Worlds Apart
by Myranya
Summary: Hermione returns to Hogwarts to teach Muggle Studies, taking her 7th year students on a field trip to London. Hilarity ensues. Snape surrenders.
1. The idea

Worlds Apart –answer to the_cutter82's challenge on WIKTT. Hermione has returned to Hogwarts as the new Muggle Studies Professor. She organises a trip to London for her 7th year students. One minor thingy: I didn't set it in the very first week of term, although the story does start there; the actual trip takes place the first weekend of October. I couldn't really work out how she'd go with so little preparation, and I liked to work the development of the idea into the story itself. 

I do not know London but I found a number of wonderful websites to help me. The Strand hotel really exists, and it even pretty much looks like I describe it. I liked their size, their location, and the great pics on their website so I could give the story a realistic setting. Kudos to their webmaster and I'm sure that it usually is a much more safe and quiet place to stay than on the weekend I've described here..;) I also tried to look up the other places in the story but real Londoners will no doubt still find errors. Sorry about that!

Category: Romance (obviously), humor (should also be obvious with this plot :P) and also some angst, 'cause I don't believe in those stories where S + H fall into each others arms the moment they see each other and never have a single care afterwards… believably putting them together in their first weekend is a major challenge as it is!

Rating: R, for chapter 6. (that's here on Fanfiction.net. NC-17 version is going to be posted elsewhere, probably on Whispers) The rest is pretty safe, PG or PG-13 for some language. 

Pairing: SS/HG only. I don't disapprove of slash but I don't know enough about it to write belie7vably; Sirius and Remus are just good friends J

Disclaimer: I don't own them. J.K. Rowling does. I only play with them!

**1. The idea.**

Hermione watched the 7th years students as they rushed out of the room, eager to get to lunch. She sighed. This was their last year, and while they knew quite a lot of things about the Muggles, she still seriously doubted they would be able to handle themselves in the Muggle world. 

It wasn't that their previous teacher was bad. Professor Tate had taught them everything that was in the curriculum. But it had been all theory. Technology didn't work at Hogwarts so even small appliances had only been shown, not demonstrated. Hermione recalled the first time she had used a mixer, splattering pancake batter all over the kitchen, and a toaster, burning the toast to a crisp. Of course, she had been much, much younger then, but she suspected many of these almost adult students would make the same mistakes if they ever had to use these objects. Kinda-sorta knowing how something worked just wasn't enough. 

She had also discovered the students didn't really understand larger Muggle equipment, which could be more dangerous. Nathan Plunge had just told how he'd tried to drive a Muggle car during the summer, after all, late last year they had covered how it worked. He'd received a good grade for the test, so he'd figured he would try it out. Renting a vehicle with a driver's licence he'd conjured, he had driven into London. Going exactly the speed limit, he had almost hit a number of objects, people everywhere had honked their horns at him –it wasn't his fault they were going so slow, was it? He knew the speed limit was higher than that, and the fact that there were so many cars on the road should not be a problem if everyone had just kept moving fast enough! Thank Merlin he'd been smart enough to turn around and return the car after five minutes and ten near-misses. But it was a good illustration of how the students knew the theory of the Muggle world but lacked any actual experience. 

And how could she give them that experience? Stories like Mr. Plunge's helped, of course. She wished she could show them a few videos of Muggles going about their business, or some Muggle movies, but of course a television and VCR didn't work at Hogwarts either. Or, well, could they take a field trip? She knew she could show them more in one weekend than she'd be able to tell using just words in the entire semester. There were students who'd never even actually used a light switch, or used a working telephone. A field trip would be a great learning experience!

Quite taken with the idea, Hermione went to lunch, determined to work out the idea and present it to the rest of the staff.

Albus listened intently to Hermione. Before she was finished, she already knew the idea would have his approval, the Headmaster's eyes twinkled and he smiled as she presented her idea. 

"Of course, you realise this is quite a responsibility you are taking," he said as she finished speaking. "Taking eighteen teenage wizards and witches into the Muggle world. There are a lot of things that can cause the Muggles to notice you and your little group."

"I realise that," Hermione replied. "But at least I'll be there to step in when things go wrong. If they go out on their own, they'll make more mistakes and no one will be there to help them out. That can easily cause as many or more incidents."

"It'll be hard to keep an eye on eighteen students," Albus remarked.

"I had intended to ask Sirius and Remus to come along, if they want to of course," Hermione replied. 

"Sirius and Remus? Are you sure that's wise?" 

Sirius would with great regularity pull pranks on the rest of the staff and while Remus tried hard to pretend he thought it silly and childish, too, he was a lousy liar and the entire staff knew he enjoyed his school friend's jokes.

"They may still like a prank or two, but they're serious enough in front of the students," Hermione argued. 

"Well, if you can get them to agree, I will see about getting approval from the School Board. Their permission is required for any field trip into the Muggle world," Albus said.

"Thank you, Albus," Hermione replied. She left the Headmaster's office in good spirits.

Sirius and Remus agreed immediately to come. Neither knew much about the Muggle world, but they'd both been in Muggle London once or twice. 

Hermione started to make preparations, quite confident in the Headmaster's ability to get permission for the trip, although she was not about to tell the students until she was sure the trip would take place. She requested and received information on London hotels, and picked a tentative date, the first weekend of October. Hopefully it wouldn't be as cold and dreary yet as it would be later in winter. It'd give her only a few weeks to prepare her class, depending on when the Headmaster would get the Board's permission, but she would manage.

Just a week after she had first spoken to Albus, he stopped her after lunch. 

"Ah, Hermione. You'll be pleased to hear I received an owl from the school board this morning, they have granted permission for your proposed trip. As a matter of fact they think it is a great idea…"

"But?" Hermione asked, as the Headmaster trailed off.

"There seems to be a rule that requires at least one teacher for every five students. I admit I'd forgotten about that one; we haven't had any field trips in a very long time."

Hermione frowned. That wasn't the worst obstacle, but she wasn't immediately sure who she would ask.

"I'll ask some of the other Professors, perhaps Filius will come," she said. "Oh, unless you would like to?"

"No, thank you," the Headmaster laughed. "I'm a little too old to chaperone a bunch of rowdy teenagers."

Hermione nodded. She hadn't really expected him to say yes, he'd stand out in the Muggle world no matter what he wore. But she was sure she'd find someone, after all it would be a change from routine for them, too.

Several hours later, she was getting worried. Filius argued he, too, would stand out too much. Minerva was too busy. Anita Sprout couldn't leave her plants unattended for two days without a lot of extra work. Everyone had some valid reason not to go, and the only one she hadn't asked yet was Snape. Even now that they were colleagues, and she was on first-name basis with the rest of the staff, she never really thought of him as Severus. He was still as harsh and distant as ever, although he didn't pick on her as much as he did when she was still a student, and the honour of being Snape's most hated colleague went to Sirius. Who would be coming for sure. Perhaps she'd better try Irma again and offer to help clean up any mess the students made in the library over the weekend? No, that wouldn't work, the librarian had been apologetic but also quite determined.

Sighing, she walked down to the dungeons and knocked on Snape's office door.

Professor Snape was grading papers when she entered. He glance up briefly, then went back to reading. 

"What do you want?" He didn't bother looking at her as he spoke, instead marking a passage on the parchment he had in front of him.

"I have been planning a field trip with my 7th year class," Hermione started.

"I heard something like that. I think it's a recipe for disaster, taking a group of teenagers into the Muggle world. But if you want me to excuse them from their Friday afternoon class, you can forget it." He finished the paper he had worked on, put it aside and picked up the next, still not bothering to look up.

Oh, that was promising. Not that she'd expected he'd like the idea, of course.

"That wasn't what I wanted to ask you. We'll be leaving after class is over, and we'll be returning Sunday after lunch," Hermione said.

"Then what is it you want?" Snape asked. Then finally he stopped reading, put down his quill and looked at her. "This better not be what I think it will be, 'cause I won't, and nothing you say will make me."

She hadn't even had the chance to ask, what good would it do to argue? Still, she really, really wanted to go through with this. 

"It's only a weekend. And I've planned several activities that might be of interest, have you ever been to the British Museum?" Hermione tried. She knew next to nothing about him, but she guessed he would be interested in culture. If he had any interests apart from potions and subtracting points from Gryffindors.

"No, I have not. Nor am I interested in visiting the place, or any other, with a large group of rowdy students."

"It would do you good to get out of the castle for a change, Severus." 

Hermione jumped, she had not heard the Headmaster walk up behind her.

Snape held up his hands. "Oh, no, I do not want to get involved in this."

"When was the last time you have gone beyond Hogwarts and Hogsmeade? You spent all summer down here in the dungeons," Albus remarked.

"Exactly. I like it that way," Snape replied, but Hermione thought he didn't sound as sure of himself as he had when it had just been her. It was hard to refuse when the Headmaster suggested something!

"It will be a great opportunity for the students. I would regret it if this trip could not take place," Albus continued. 

"I would suggest you and Professor Granger find someone else, but I suspect she's already tried that. I hardly expect I'm the first choice for this assignment."

Hermione nodded. She was polite enough but there really was no use in denying the facts. Albus just stood there, looking at Snape.

"When is this excursion to take place?" Snape snapped.

"I had planned it for the first weekend of October," Hermione replied.

Snape sighed. "Fine, then. I'll do it." Without another word, he picked up his quill and continued marking the papers.

Hermione smiled. "Thank you," she said sincerely. With a quick smile at the Headmaster, she left. He had agreed, she wasn't going to wait around so he could try to back out of it. She would send a note with the details.

Her students all loved the idea of going to London and the next few weeks her classes were hectic. Clothes were transformed into Muggle clothing; jeans, T-shirts, sweaters and coats. Trunks were transformed into suitcases and backpacks. She handed everyone a list of what to take and, more importantly, what _not_ to take. Leaving the wands home was not an option, of course, for while Voldemort had been defeated several years ago, soon after her own graduation, he had gathered a much larger following this time around and some small groups of Death Eaters still held out. No wizard or witch would go out without a wand, nowadays. But she handed out pens, pencils and notebooks, telling them to leave parchment, quills and inks at the school. She allowed no one to take their wizard clothing, nor any wizard candy or snacks. And definitely, most definitely, no items from Zonko's or Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. 

She'd sent a list of items to take and the itinerary to Snape, and he had acknowledged receiving it, but did not otherwise speak to her. Of course, he'd glowered when he'd learned Sirius and Remus would also be coming, but he'd not tried to back out. Hermione figured she had Albus to thank for that –or the Gods.

Sirius and Remus had helped her pick out places to go and seemed to be looking forward to the trip as much as the students, enthusiastically discussing the plans, picking out clothing, digging up an old Muggle camera and some horrible Hawaiian shirts she vetoed. 

Finally, everyone was packed and they all gathered in the Great Hall. She checked everyone's clothing and luggage and found very little amiss. She also glanced at her colleagues. Sirius wore a sports jacket and looked just like a slightly older version of the students. Remus, as always, looked a bit shabby, in jeans, sweater and a rather old coat. Snape… He was dressed in all black, Hermione didn't think she'd ever seen him wear any other colour. Slacks, black jacket, black overcoat, and carrying a matching, black suitcase. All of his clothing was perfectly Muggle, and not even terribly out of style, no Muggle would suspect he was a wizard. It was just that whatever he was wearing, he looked very much like... Snape. She sighed.

Satisfied everything was in order, she started handing out Floo powder. They'd Floo to the Leaky Cauldron, briefly stop at Gringott's for everyone to exchange their money, and then head into Muggle London itself.

A/N's:

Since there are eighteen students and it may be a little confusing, here's a list:

Nathan Plunge, Hufflepuff, roommate of Ramon Moss, Gryffindor.

Poul Steward, Gryffindor, roommate of Arty Chandelier, Gryffindor.

Leroy Jones, Hufflepuff, roommate of Carter Andelsson, Hufflepuff.

Ricardo Bianco, Ravenclaw, roommate of Ian High, Ravenclaw.

Gina Buttercup, Gryffindor, roommate of Lila MacGregor, Gryffindor.

Marian Terrence, Hufflepuff, roommate of Iris Castello, Gryffindor.

Yolanda Tollens, Hufflepuff, roommate of Xandra Rain, Hufflepuff.

Katrin Jameson, Ravenclaw, roommate of Mary Addinson, Ravenclaw.

Alicia Ladonna, Slytherin, roommate of Sirena Glenfield, Slytherin.

Hope this helps! (and yes, for those who didn't get it, that's roommates in the hotel, not at Hogwarts!)


	2. Arriving in London

Disclaimer: I don't own them. J.K. Rowling does. I only play with them!

**2. Arriving in London**

They drew a lot of looks on Diagon Alley, dressed in their Muggle clothing. Gina Buttercup, a tall Gryffindor, started to giggle as she noticed the stares, then Lila MacGregor, her blonde friend, started as well, and soon all the girls were giggling like a bunch of school kids. The boys, in the meantime, were pretending to be Muggles and pointed out all kinds of things in the shop windows. 

"Hey, come look at this, what a strange kind of pots they sell here," Poul Steward, also from Gryffindor, called out, pointing at some cauldrons. 

"Quidditch, what's Quidditch, some strange way of sweeping with those brooms?" his house-mate Arty Chandelier asked loudly.

The entire group cracked up and for the first time Hermione started to question the wisdom of taking these kids into Muggle London. Then, they knew they could fool around here and it was better they got the excitement out of their system here than on the other side of the Leaky Cauldron. She let them have their fun.

Holding the door for her group to enter Gringott's, she caught Snape's eye. He looked like he was trying to pretend he didn't know them, which was rather futile since so few people were dressed like Muggles here in Diagon Alley. It was obviously no coincidence he happened to walk behind them. She could barely stop herself from laughing out loud at the expression on his face.

As they left the bank and neared the Leaky Cauldron again, she called the group to order. 

"Now, everyone, please control yourselves!" she said. "Release all levitation spells, we'll have to carry our luggage from here on. It is not far to the hotel."

She had chosen a hotel on The Strand, for its location near the Leaky Cauldron as well as for its size. In any of the small hotels there'd be few others and all the attention would be on them, while here, she hoped, there would be plenty of other guests to keep the staff busy. 

No matter how close it was, several students complained about the weight of their luggage by the time they entered the lobby. They weren't used to carrying anything heavy without help, even King's Cross station had luggage carts.

Leaving Sirius, Remus and Snape to watch the students in the seating area in the middle of the spacious lobby, Hermione checked in, signing her name and using her parent's address. Of course she couldn't use Hogwarts'. Soon she had the keys and handed them out. They'd paired off the students at school so they didn't have to fight over room arrangements here. Sirius and Remus would share; not surprisingly, Snape had insisted on a room of his own. Telling everyone to put their stuff in their rooms and meet again in the lobby in half an hour, she walked to the lifts to drop her suitcase in her own room as well.

Arty, Poul, the third Gryffindor boy, Ramon Moss, and Nathan from Ravenclaw had adjacent rooms on the fourth floor and went to the lifts together. After just a moment of looking at the little buttons and the numbers, they made it up there without incident. They unlocked their rooms, tossed their suitcases on the bed and gathered in one room to look around. The television looked simple enough, and Ramon managed to turn it on in one try. They laughed and clapped as it came on. 

"This must be the remote," Arty said as he picked up the telephone, then noticed the cord. The other three burst out laughing. 

"Well, it's just as thin and flat as the one we saw in class last year!" Arty defended his mistake. Poul grinned, finding the real remote next to the television and pressing some buttons at random. 

Ramon had already abandoned the television and was now flicking light switches, turning the various lights on and off. 

"That's simple enough," he stated. He disappeared into the bathroom and almost immediately a loud buzzing sound was heard, followed by a shout and a clatter. 

Nathan rushed to the door. "You okay, man?" 

"Found the hair dryer," Ramon replied, looking slightly embarrassed as he emerged from the bathroom.

Arty was still holding the telephone. "Anyone want something from room service?" he asked, grinning.

"We don't have time for that. Try tonight, I bet we can do it without them ever noticing we aren't Muggles," Poul replied.

"Hey, look, we got a refigarator in here, even!" Ramon exclaimed, still making his rounds through the room. 

"RefRigErator," Arty corrected, sticking out his tongue at Ramon. That'd teach him to laugh at someone else's mistakes.

"Whatever," Ramon replied, swinging it shut. Then he walked to a contraption hanging next to the door. "So what's this, Mr. Know-it-all?"

Arty looked over. "No idea."

"Hey, look, it opens up a bit!" 

"Careful man, don't break anything," Nathan cautioned.

"I won't. Do you think it's a really weird umbrella stand ?" Ramon suggested.

"Nah, they don't look like that," Arty replied. "Not even Muggle ones."

"Come on, we have to go back down to the lobby," Poul suggested.

"Okay. Aw, shit!" Ramon replied as he closed the contraption and slammed his fingers in it. 

Arty burst out laughing, he couldn't help it. 

"Great, you figure it out!" Ramon said angrily, sucking his fingers.

"I'll try, tonite," Arty promised. "Poul's right, we gotta go. Are you okay?"

"I'll live," Ramon replied sourly.

Together, they made their way down to the lobby without further incidents. 

Hermione was glad when the last group entered the lobby. So far, no one had got stuck in the lifts or otherwise created any major trouble yet, and that was about as good as she'd hoped for. 

"Where're we going, Miss Granger?" Leroy Jones, a tall, black Hufflepuff, asked. She'd instructed them all to call her Miss instead of Professor, it was less conspicuous. 

"Tonight's dinner will be at McDonald's. Not the best food, but definitely common around here," she told them. 'Common around here' or 'local' was their way of saying it was Muggle when there might be Muggles near enough to overhear. She led the way, just a block or so down the street to the gaudy yellow 'M'. 

"Al right, everyone, order for yourselves, remember to use local currency and order only those items that are on the menu. If you don't see it on the list, they don't have it."

The entire group rushed to the counter. Doing her best to keep an eye on everyone, she took a place in line herself. Sirius, Remus and Snape followed suit.

It could've been worse. Iris Castello, a Gryffindor with dark hair and a surprisingly light skin, had some trouble finding the correct bills, and Yolanda Tollens, a slightly-overweight Hufflepuff, was clearly confused when the serving boy asked her whether she wanted a McChicken Sandwich or a McChicken Meal, but her classmate Marian Terrence helped her out. Since everyone was chatting together and having fun, it could easily appear that she'd just been distracted instead of being at McDonald's for the first time in her life.

They found several tables close together. Hermione tried to hide a grin as Iris opened her styrofoam box so that her burger dropped out onto her tray, and Gina fidgeted trying to get her straw through the lid of her cup, but once again, nothing that happened was major enough to attract attention.

"This was the best restaurant you could find?" Snape inquired, looking at his cheeseburger with disgust.

Hermione grinned. "No, but it's definitely Muggle. That is what this field trip is about."

"Muggles _like_ this stuff?" Snape asked in reply.

Hermione shrugged. "They eat it all the time. Sometimes they complain about it too but that doesn't stop them from coming back."

Snape shook his head. "Strange."

"That's true," Hermione admitted. 

As everyone had eaten it turned out they still had to encounter the greatest obstacle, the trash bins. No less than four students managed to spill more empty containers onto the floor than they got into the trash bins. Several people gave them dirty looks, but Hermione made everyone pick up what they dropped, then made sure they got out of there before anyone could comment. They certainly weren't the first rowdy bunch to make a mess, even if in their case it was unintentional.

The movie was even less eventful. London had, of course, the large IMAX theatre, but those kind of theatres were rare and Hermione had opted for a regular movie instead. They watched a James Bond movie, the most 'Muggle' thing that was showing. Once again there were some minor mishaps, when Ricardo Bianco, a short and energetic Ravenclaw, got caught up in the moment and called out "Curse him!" during a chase, and when Katrin Jameson, from the same house, asked the boy at the concession stand what popcorn was made of, but other than that it all went smoothly. Walking back to the hotel, Hermione was quite happy with the way her students were behaving.

At the hotel, she gathered the group around her in the lobby.

"Now, I know some of you will want to chat for a while yet, and that's fine, but only in the rooms. Don't go to any of the bars or restaurants, and don't hang out here in the lobby. No ordering alcohol from the bar and no drinking alcohol from the mini-bar in your room either. Keep the noise down and under no circumstance leave the hotel. Be down here for breakfast at eight, and remember we have a long weekend ahead of us. Don't complain you're tired if you didn't get enough sleep."

A chorus of 'Yes Miss Granger's' answered her, and she watched as the students disappeared into the lifts in small groups. 

"Do you honestly think it's a good idea to let them go up to their rooms by themselves?" Snape asked. 

"Their rooms are all over the hotel, we can't walk them all to their own room and lock them in. They'll keep themselves out of sight and if they stay up all night, well, it's them that'll be tired tomorrow," Hermione replied.

"You obviously have more confidence in your students than I do," he remarked.

Hermione shrugged. She wasn't at all sure they'd stay out of trouble, but she really didn't know how to keep an eye on all of them, and they had seemed quiet. She had good hopes they'd have some sense and go to sleep soon. 

"So, will you come and join us in the bar?" she asked. Sirius and Remus were already headed that way, but she felt uncomfortable at just leaving Snape without even inviting him. They _were_ here all together, after all.

"You're inviting me?" Snape asked, rather acidly.

"Well, then don't come, if you prefer to spent the evening like all the rest, by yourself," Hermione snapped. Did he always have to sneer at everything?

"I'll come," he replied to her surprise.

Of course, he couldn't just sit and relax. He kept getting up, disappearing towards the lifts, and returning some time later. No doubt he was patrolling the hotel, as if it were Hogwarts. 

"I wonder if he tries to take off any points when he comes upon other guests in the halls," Sirius remarked when Snape left for the third time.

Hermione snickered, almost choking on her drink. Remus patted her on her back until she caught her breath. But joke or not, Snape was starting to draw attention. Several people were staring after him. 

"Severus, please sit down," she said when he returned again. It did sound strange to address him by his first name, but it would be even stranger to keep using last names during this trip. "You're starting to draw attention."

"Why?" he asked. "I'm wearing Muggle clothes and I'm not doing anything."

Hermione took a deep breath. "That's true, but… you still look rather, well, menacing. All black clothes, your long hair, and most Muggles don't stalk through the hotel all night. Even when they have students staying here."

"I don't see what's wrong with wearing all black or with checking on the students," Snape replied. 

"Nothing is wrong with either, it's just the way you do it… they'll think you're a prowler or something," Hermione pointed out. 

"What!?" Snape replied.

Sirius and Remus were trying hard not to fall out of their chairs laughing. 

"She's right, Severus. Even without your robes, you still look like an overgrown bat," Remus put in.

Snape glowered and Hermione thought he would stalk off again, but after a moment's hesitation he sat down. "Better a bat than a flea-bag," he commented dryly.

Hermione snickered again. Sometimes she got really tired of all the bickering but she knew they wouldn't stop no matter what she said. And it was funny, in some ways.

They chatted for another hour or so, and fortunately the hotel remained quiet. No screaming students or Muggles appeared from the upper floors. Perhaps the students really were relatively responsible. Or they were saving themselves for the next evening. 

Eventually, Hermione found herself yawning and decided to take her own advice of not staying up too late. 

"I'm going up to my room," she said, getting up. "Goodnight, everyone."

"I think I'll take just one more before I go," Sirius replied. "See you in the morning, Hermione."

"Me, too," Remus put in. "Night, Hermione."

"Goodnight, Miss Granger," Snape said. He'd stubbornly kept calling her Miss Granger, even here in the bar. Well, at least he'd stopped prowling through the entire hotel.

She walked up to the lifts and pressed the button. While she waited, Snape came up. 

"Decided to call it a night, too?" she inquired. 

"I don't really want to sit and listen to them. And no matter how optimistic you may be about the student's behavior, I am counting on a long weekend," he replied.

"Well, they haven't blown up the hotel," Hermione said lightly.

"Yet," Snape added.

The lift arrived and they entered. Pressing the button for the 6th floor, Hermione didn't comment on his pessimism. 

"Was I really that conspicuous?" Snape asked after a moment. 

Hermione started. He was asking her opinion? That was a first. 

"Well… yes. It would help if you didn't wear all black," she said. "Don't you have anything in another colour?"

"No."

"You could transfigure something. It doesn't have to be a _bright_ color, try dark blue or something," Hermione suggested.

The lift arrived at their floor and they stepped out.

"I'll consider it. Goodnight," Snape said shortly.

"Goodnight, Severus," Hermione replied.

A/N: 5 House points to whoever knows what contraption Ramon smashed his fingers in J


	3. Harrod's

Disclaimer: I don't own them. J.K. Rowling does. I only play with them!

**3. Harrod's**

Hermione made sure she was up early the next morning. She wanted to beat the first students to the lobby. Even if they had been quiet last night, they'd be rested now and she didn't trust a group of excited, impatient teenagers in the hotel lobby by themselves.

Snape was already there, no doubt for the same reason, sitting in one of the black leather chairs reading the morning paper. She looked at him, looked again, then chuckled. He _had_ transfigured his clothing to be blue, dark blue. But it was so dark she would've thought it was a trick of the light if they hadn't had that conversation last night. She'd bet most people wouldn't notice if no one were to point it out. 

As he heard her, he looked up and she stopped chuckling just in time. 

"Morning, Severus," she said. 

"Good morning, Miss Granger," he replied. 

"It's… better," she said, indicating his clothes. Well, it was a step in the right direction, she couldn't expect miracles overnight.

Snape looked at her as if he tried to figure out if she was sincere or not. Fortunately, before he could say anything, the lift doors opened again and the first students spilled out into the lobby. Definitely well rested.

Ian High was in front, blue eyes gleaming and his blonde hair unruly as always, followed by his roommate Ricardo. 

"You never guess what Ricardo did last night, he turned up the air conditioner and when we woke up this morning we were _freezing!_ "

Hermione grinned but she also held up her hand, silencing them. This was a mistake Muggles sometimes made too, in a strange hotel, but she still threw a cautionary look towards the reception desk. 

"We'll try to get some quiet tables in the breakfast room," she promised. 

The two boys sat down and Ricardo also picked up a part of the paper. 

"Look, football, baseball, all Muggle sports," he said. But at least he kept his voice down.

Remus and Sirius came down, yawning. Neither was a morning person, and Hermione was long glad they made it up, she wouldn't complain about how awake they seemed to be.

Fifteen minutes and almost as many loudly announced adventures later, everyone had arrived and Hermione led the way into one of the restaurants. There weren't many other guests and the room was large, so they did manage to get an entire corner to themselves. Hopefully, any other guests who'd be arriving would take a seat well away from the rowdy bunch.

Most students sat down and looked at their plate, waiting for something to happen. 

"It's a buffet, stupid," Arty tactically reminded his roommate, dropping their room key on the table and walking over to the food.

Hermione grinned as Poul muttered "I knew that," and he and the other students got up again. She kept an eye on the line. She showed Lila how to use the juice dispenser, prevented Mary from burning herself when she put a slice of bread in the toaster, all without, she hoped, being too obvious about it. There were a lot of people running around, keeping an eye on the food and refilling empty serving platters. She caught herself wishing for the discretion of House Elves.

Suddenly there was a small _clang_, a yelp and a clatter. Jumping as well, Hermione turned to find Alicia Ladonna, one of the two Slytherins, who'd stood right next to the toaster, had started when Mary's bread had popped up and dropped her plate. She was staring at the toaster as if she expected a snake to crawl out of it, while the rest of the students, or at least those who hadn't made it to their seats yet, where doubled over with laughter. 

Ramon fished the toast out of the toaster and, although he had to juggle it from hand to hand to prevent burning his fingers, advanced on Alicia. "Beware the killer toast!" he said in a low voice. 

"Ramon, stop that, she can't help she started," Hermione called him back, trying to keep a straight face herself. That was the problem with her, she always had a hard time to keep from laughing when something weird happened. How did Snape manage to keep scowling all the time?

Speaking of Snape. "What is so funny here?" he asked as he came up to the buffet. 

"I just dropped something, sir," Alicia replied. She was a Slytherin but she'd turned bright red and she didn't want to admit a toaster spooked her. Of course there was no keeping it secret when ten other students had seen, but Hermione didn't fault her for trying.  

"Come on, those who have food get to the table, Alicia, get a new plate," Hermione said, dispersing the students. A lady from the hotel arrived with a dustpan and Hermione apologised to her.

The lady gave her a meaningful look and a smile. "Kids." She didn't seem shocked, no doubt she'd had mishaps with rowdy groups of teenagers before.

If only you knew, Hermione thought. 

Snape remained nearby until all the students had their food, and, with the lady from the hotel this close Hermione was glad for it. He just managed to prevent another spill when Xandra Rain kept pressing the button on the coffee dispenser instead of releasing it.

After breakfast they went to Harrod's. They still had more than an hour before the store would open, so Hermione decided to walk. They would be able to get an impression of the city as well. On the way back they'd take the tube, which was of course something they couldn't skip. 

Walking through London was uneventful. They stopped to take pictures in many places, with the Muggle cameras Marian, Katryn and Remus had brought, but they didn't go in anywhere. The passers-by took no notice of them. They arrived at Harrod's shortly after it opened.

"Now I don't want any of you to go off on your own, but if you do get lost, be sure to meet here in front of the store at noon," Hermione told them all. She knew it would be difficult to keep track of the entire group, it was crowded and no doubt some of the kids would want to seek out different areas of the store. 

The students whoop'd when they entered the store. Good thing Harrod's was considered a sight to see by the Muggles, too, so while they got a few frowns no one looked at them too strangely. Hermione wouldn't have known how to explain if they'd gone into a regular department store and have all their students act amazed.

They cruised the various floors for a while. The students didn't actually buy much, since of course they had little use for Muggle items. They did stock up on Muggle sweets. 

After about an hour Hermione stopped again for a headcount. During this time, they'd stopped a hundred minor disasters. From Carter's loud exclamation the broomsticks wouldn't fly, to Ian's question (directed to the store personnel, which she had specifically told them *not* to do) where they kept the owls in the Pet's department, to Yolanda's quest for color-changing nail polish. 

Sirius and Remus were grinning, appreciating the humour of the situation, although they were quick enough to stop anyone who was about to give them away. Snape looked exasperated, and was almost attracting more attention snapping at the students than the students did asking their questions. Most schools in the Muggle world were less strict with their students, nowadays. Hermione herself was satisfied they were still all there, but had to admit she was tiring quickly. 

A loud discussion had broken out about where to go next. Most of the boys wanted to go to the Sport's department and the toys, Ian and Xandra wanted to go back to the pets, Alicia, Sirena, Yolanda and Katrin wanted to go to check out the accessories and make-up, and Nathan, Carter and Leroy wanted to go to Photography and get a camera for the rest of their trip. 

"We can split up, each take a few of the students and meet at noon," Hermione suggested to her colleagues when it was plain the kids would not agree.

Sirius grinned. "I'll take the boys to Sports and Toys," he offered.

"Figures," Snape replied dryly.

"I'll go to the Pet's department, although I hate seeing them in those little cages," Remus put in.

Well, that meant she'd have to take the girls to the accessories, for she didn't see Snape go with them. She noticed Snape was already calling the boys and it irritated her, even if the arrangement made sense he could at least say something. 

"I'll take the girls," she said pointedly. She made sure all those who did not have a particular preference also joined one of their groups, and then went on her way.

The girls swarmed all over the department, picking up and trying on hats, scarves and more. 

Suddenly Sirena appeared with a huge, black hat with net and feathers. Together with her long, black hair it made her look like the mystery lady in an 80's movie.

"I want to get this one, think I can keep it on?" she asked. 

"It looks great!" Alicia agreed with her friend. 

"You can't wear that on the street," Hermione put in. 

"Why not? It's a Muggle hat," Sirena pointed out.

Hermione sighed. "Yes, but no Muggle your age would wear that style. And certainly not with jeans."

Disappointed, Sirena took it off, but decided to buy it and have it wrapped anyway. 

Katrin and Yolanda returned from the Perfumery in a cloud of fumes, having tried every tester they could get their hands on. Hermione coughed. Whew! She wished for the privacy to do magic against that, but there was little chance of that in the busy store. 

Mary had come along with their group as well and was now wearing bright, rainbow colored sunglasses. Not quite unobtrusive but no worse than when Muggles wore them.

With some difficulty, she gathered everyone and they went to the entrance where they'd come in. Waiting inside the store and cautioning the students, who started to look around again, not to wander off too far, she scanned the store for the others. Remus returned with his students, fortunately no one had purchased any animals. She'd forgotten to remind them the hotel might not like it if they brought any in.

"Alicia, behind you! Boo!" someone called out suddenly.

Hermione turned to look. A toaster hovered in mid-air, right next to the Slytherin girl.

Alicia yelped, then quickly turned red again and tried to pretend she hadn't started. 

Cursing, Hermione pulled her wand out of her belt. Keeping it hidden as much as possible, she hovered the toaster over to the nearest shelf and put it down next to a stack of shawls. It'd only taken a moment, but she already noticed three people staring at them. 

"Mr Andelsson, that's thirty points off, and detention," she hissed, spotting the tall Hufflepuff. "Are you out of your mind?"

"That, I saw..," some Muggle woman was stammering. 

"I'm sorry we startled you, Madam," Remus told her. "We're here with a group of students for an illusionists convention, but they know better than to use their tricks to pull pranks on people."

The woman looked at him for a moment. "I'd say!" she said indignantly, then sniffed and briskly walked off. The other two passers-by who had witnessed the incident also seemed to take Remus' explanation at face value. 

"And another twenty points off for sneaking away. We looked all over the place for you," Snape said coldly as he approached, the rest of his group in tow. "An _illusionists_ convention?"  

Remus shrugged. "It worked."

"I'm sorry," Carter Andelsson said quietly, not so boisterous now. 

"I should think so," Hermione told him shortly. That was a lot of points, with Snape's added to hers, but she didn't feel one bit sorry for the boy. Damn, doing magic in Harrod's? She just hoped no one had seen the toaster floating through the store, where was the small appliances department anyhow? Sighing, she gave her thanks to Remus and then, fortunately, she spotted Sirius with the rest of the students. 

A/N:

Jana B: Thank you! I think part of the fun of a challenge is trying to do both, getting the requirements in and still writing a good story, but it can be hard. Fortunately, this one has a number of phrases and situations to pick from. The addy for the Whispers version is 

Darklady, Raquelos: Thank you!

Arysta: Sorry, Snape isn't going to catch anyone in the halls, that'd be far too easy. Those who're sneaking out are gonna get a lot further before being found ::grin::

Whisper: Yes, you got it, here's 5 points!

Redone: No, it's not a dustbin, sorry. I won't focus a lot on Sirius and Remus, but they're gonna get a few good lines. And yes, they're all reasonably competent in the Muggle world. I'm not sure where they picked it up but I don't think it would be in character for Hermione to take anyone along who's likely to get into bigger trouble than the students themselves. 

SaltyJ15: Patience, I'll get there! ;) You're almost correct but not quite!

Spunkz: I'm sorry, I don't get the reference to the pink potato, but thanks for the review!

Rosmerta: Almost, but not quite! Snape will be impressed by some of the things in the museum, but I doubt he'll show it :P

Liesel: Sorry, no laundry drop! And yes, I know I'm not canon. No offence to JKR, but I think it's pretty unbelievable such wizards as Mr. Weasley would be working in a department dealing with Muggle artefacts and yet say 'eckeltricity'. I'm trying to give some credit to Hogwarts as a school and Hermione's predecessor as a teacher. The students are lacking plenty practical experience to get themselves in trouble, but they know the basics!

Usagisnape: also almost correct!

Jessicat1982: Thank you! And no, it's not an ironing board, but you're close!

Woodward: almost again! 

Hermia LaFaye: You got it, five points for you too!

Kazza: Thank you! Sorry, not a luggage rack. 

Serendipity: Thank you! You're close!

All, it was a trouser press, I guess that was more difficult to guess than I thought, only a few of you got it! Okay, one point for everyone who took a guess, too : )


	4. The British Museum

Disclaimer: I don't own them. J.K. Rowling does. I only play with them!

**4. The British Museum**

They took the tube to Leicester Square, dropped their purchases off at the hotel, then had lunch in a small restaurant. The students talked among themselves, filling Sirius' group in on Carter's prank and chatting about what they'd seen, but they had enough sense to behave themselves for the moment. The other Hufflepuffs were annoyed about losing so many points and the rest of students likely didn't want to be next.

After lunch, they went to the British Museum. By far the largest museum in London, it held collections from every continent. Hermione suggested they start with a few of the highlights. She regretted there was so little Muggle history taught at Hogwarts; their worlds had been separate for a long time but the Muggle world had still influenced theirs. 

She'd been at the museum before and still knew where to find the Rosetta Stone, which they'd learned about in Ancient Runes but none of the students had ever seen for real, the Sutton Hoo ship burial, where a King had been buried with an entire thirty metre long ship, Ginger, the five thousand year old naturally mummified man, and many other important displays. 

She'd been afraid the students might not be interested in the ancient displays, but that, at least, she shouldn't have worried about. Katrin, Mary and Leroy were hard to get away from the Rosetta Stone and later the Mesopotamian 'World Map' with its inscriptions. Ian wanted to learn everything about the mummies and looked at the beautifully decorated sarcophagi in awe. Alicia and Sirena went for the various pieces of jewelry, although they were openly disdainful of the 'common' pieces of armour and weaponry that were also on display. 

The greatest problem was keeping them together. And making them watch their tongues. None of them had ever been in the Muggle world before, except to pass through on their way to the train station, Diagon Alley or wherever, and when they got excited about something they forgot. 

"I bet this one is a _real _painting, look, no one's in it, they must've walked off!" Trust Nathan to find a still life of a table and chair. 

"It's supposed to be like that," Marian corrected him.

"What, with no one in it? That's silly."

Sirius threw them a warning glance. 

Fortunately, they were getting used to this. "You're such a clown!" Marian quickly exclaimed. 

Just joking, people, nothing to see here… Hermione gave Marian five points for her save, then glanced at her watch. Only an hour and a half after lunch but she was dying for a cup of tea and a break. Perhaps she could suggest they all grab a drink, there were several café's in the museum and they'd probably be able to do tea without getting in any trouble. 

Fortunately, her suggestion was immediately accepted and everybody managed to get their orders without any problems. The café was crowded and they had to take some tables near Muggle visitors, but the students were too busy arguing about where to go next to mention anything Muggle or magic. Leroy was trying to take a group picture with his new camera and was having a hard time figuring out how it worked, but that, too, was something not entirely unheard of among Muggles. 

"So shall we split up again?" Remus suggested. "It doesn't sound like they'll agree on anything soon."

"As long as everyone manages to keep track of their students," Sirius smirked.

"Oh, shut up," Snape snapped. 

"Well, he was in your group," Sirius pointed out. "How'd he get away anyhow?"

"He must have taken off when I helped Mr. Jones and Mr. Plunge with their purchases. Contrary to what most students seem to think, I do not have eyes in the back of my head," Snape replied. 

"Sirius, let it go," Hermione sighed. Now where'd that come from? Snape could take care of himself. Oh well. It had surprised her anyone had sneaked out on Snape, in particular, but it could've happened to any of them. She was just trying to prevent another round of bickering, that was all.

"So who goes where?" Remus asked, steering the conversation back on track. 

"I'd like our own British history," Hermione said. 

Sirius shrugged. "Anything is fine with me."

"Of course, since you can't distinguish one culture from another anyhow. I'll take Ancient Rome," Snape sneered.

"Fitting. Just make sure you don't get any students stuck in the Trojan Horse," Sirius remarked, proving Snape's point.

Hermione snickered.

"What?" Sirius asked. 

"That's Greek, not Roman," Hermione managed, trying hard not to laugh out loud. She liked Sirius well enough but she had to agree with Snape, he was not culturally inclined.  

Snape, of course, only smirked.

"I'll take North America. Everybody finished with their tea?" Remus said.

Hermione nodded, thankful for his interruption. Damn, she had to learn to keep a straight face instead of cracking up when something like this happened!

"Meet at the museum shop at five," she said.

The rest of the afternoon held no great surprises, and neither did dinner. For the evening, Hermione took the group to a show in West End. A few minor mishaps were all that happened, and the evening went by very quickly. It was only just past ten when they returned to the hotel.

A/N:

Makota: Thank you!

Arysta: Thank you for your reviews! Yes, they're still doing pretty well, aren't they? You'd almost think it's gonna turn out to be a nice, quiet weekend after all… : )

Zoe: Thank you! 

Whisper: Thank you! It would be difficult to learn everything about any culture without ever going there. I'm sure we'd make a lot of mistakes in the Wizarding world too, even if we'd read all the books. Still kinda wish I could give it a try, of course ::sigh::

Rosmerta: Thank you! Heh, a toaster with wings would be fun, but a bit harder to transfigure it like that… and poor Remus would never have been able to make that woman believe they were merely a group of illusionists! : )


	5. London night life

Disclaimer: I don't own them. J.K. Rowling does. I only play with them!

**5. London night life.**

"Same as yesterday, everyone. No going down to the bar, no drinking alcohol from the mini-bar, no noise in the hall and don't even consider leaving the hotel," Hermione briefly repeated her instructions of the previous night.

Once again, the students chorused an acknowledgement. 

"They're too quiet," Snape said as the students filed into the lifts.

"I agree," Hermione said. "I doubt they'll go to sleep quietly two nights in a row. Not in the middle of Muggle London."

"You're more perceptive than I'd have thought, with just a month's worth of teaching experience," Snape remarked.

Hermione grinned. "Don't forget I have seven years' worth of experience being friends with Harry and Ron."

"There's that," Snape replied.

"I'll go see that everyone has actually gone up to their rooms," Remus offered, and Hermione thanked him. 

She walked towards the bar with Snape and Sirius, and this time Hermione planned on making one or two rounds herself, as well. 

Arty, Poul, Nathan and Ramon had gone up to their room with the others. They threw their stuff down and took off their coats. Not too surprisingly, a little later there was a short knock and Professor Lupin stood in the doorway. 

"Everything alright here?" he asked. 

"Fine, Professor," Arty said, looking up from the television programme they'd been watching. Or pretending to watch, he'd no idea what it was about.

Professor Lupin gave them a suspicious look. Arty didn't fault him, they did have somewhat of a reputation for getting in trouble. But they weren't doing anything wrong, hanging on the beds and the chairs watching TV. 

"'kay, just checking," Professor Lupin said, and left.

"If we wanna go, we should go now," Poul said, the moment the door closed.

"It'll be a few before they check again," Arty agreed. 

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Nathan asked. Of course, Hufflepuff was already fifty punts down from Carter's little stunt that morning. 

"Aw, come on, we're in London. When are we going to get a chance like this again?" Ramon asked.

"You don't have to come if you don't want to," Arty said.

"And let you guys have all the fun? No way," Nathan decided. 

They took the lift down to the lobby. Arty carried Ramon's coat, and Ramon checked out the lobby first. If any of the other Professors were there, he'd say he just had a question to ask. That had been Arty's idea, and he was rather proud of it.

No one was in the lobby, except for the lady at the hotel desk. Greeting her friendly, the four boys left the hotel.

"Left or right?" Poul asked as they paused just out of sight of the hotel doors.

"Dunno, toss a coin," Nathan suggested.

Poul pulled a coin from his pocket. "Heads left, tails right."

"Hey, that's a sickle, you're not supposed to use those," Arty said.

"I'm not spending it, I'm only tossing it. It's tails."

Poul pocketed the sickle and they took off down the street.

Entering the first pub they found, they walked up to the bar and ordered a beer.

The barkeeper looked at them closely. "You boys look awfully young, do you have any ID?"

Ramon blinked. "No, I'd no idea, but we're seventeen."

"Then I'm not serving you," the barkeeper said. "Gotta be eighteen, you know that."

"Yeah, of course." The boys left.

In the next pub they tried to say they were eighteen, but the barman didn't take their word for it. He, also asked if they had any ID.

"About what?" Poul asked in return.

The barman sighed. "Very funny. You know what I mean, passport, driver's licence, anything. But I think you guys've had enough for the evening."

Four pubs later they were about to give up.

"Man, I didn't know it was this hard to have fun in London," Ramon complained.

"Let's go back before they miss us," Poul suggested.

"Hell no, if they _have_ missed us we'll get in trouble for nothing," Ramon argued. "Just one more."

"What if we just ask for a cola, at least we can drink that and chat for a while," Arty suggested. They had pieced together they weren't allowed to drink alcohol but he thought they could probably get some other drink. They'd been able to order cola at that MacDonald's place or what was it called, and at the museum.

"Good idea," Nathan agreed.

The next pub was a small one, slightly darker than the others they'd been in. They almost missed it, for the windows were closed with blinds and only the sign indicated it was, indeed, a pub. There were quite a few guests, men in heavy jackets, even inside, and women who wore very little. Poul whistled softly and several women looked at them.

"What will it be?" the barkeeper asked them.

"A cola. Four cola's," Arty said.

The barman looked at them, measuring them with his gaze. Then he grinned. "Ah, cola eh? Don' worry 'bout that here, if you wan' anything in it I won' look too close at ye. It's dark in here anyhow."

Arty didn't know what the bartender meant, but he seemed friendly enough. "Thank you, sir, that'd be great."

The man put four large glasses on the table and Arty managed to pay without any trouble. Muggle money wasn't that difficult once you got the hang of it. Then he took a sip from his glass. Tasted funny, different from the cola he'd had before. He wasn't sure he liked it. He took another careful sip.

Two of the women who had been sitting at the other end of the bar wandered over. 

"You're not from around here, are you?" one asked as she sat down between him and Ramon. The other lady squeezed in between Poul and Nathan.

"No, we're from... up north," Arty replied. 

She laughed at his hesitation. "It's just I've never seen any of you guys in here. You don't have to tell if you don't want. What counts is that you're here now." She winked at him.

He nodded, but didn't know what to say. 

After a moment she turned to Ramon. "An' you, also from up north? What's your name?"

Ramon told her, and soon the two of them were having an animated conversation.

Arty took another sip of his cola. Glancing over, he noticed Ramon's glass was almost empty. The barman noticed, too, and refilled it. Poul's and Nathan's, too. 

He saw the barman walk to the door and lock it, then turn off the sign. The dim lights were dimmed even further.

As the man returned and caught his worried glance, he laughed. "You really are new here, ain't you? Not to worry, you can leave any time you want to, we jus' don't want anyone to come in after eleven. Not supposed to be servin' no more, but that'd be a waste of a good evenin'."

Arty shrugged. "I guess so," he said. It would be a pity if they'd had to leave now that they'd just found a pub that didn't kick them out.

"I don' need to guess, I know it's so," the barman said. He then moved off to refill some pints for his other customers. 

Arty yawned. It had been a long day and he was tired. The lady who was sitting next to him had turned her back towards him and was only talking to Ramon. On his other side was an empty stool and then a few Muggles talking about Muggle things. He sat and stared at his drink, almost dozing off.

He had no idea how much time had passed when he heard Ramon's voice. 

"Quiddish. You know, it's really a fun game." His friend's voice sounded weird, thick. Like it sounded after a few Butterbeers, only worse.

He reached around the lady, poking Ramon in the side. "Shush!" he hissed.

Ramon blinked, then grinned widely as he seemed to realise what Arty meant. 

"Hah, I was jus' kiddin', of course. I really play football," he said to the lady. 

Arty was all but reassured. He looked over at the others and noticed their voices sounded strange, too. Poul was just handing over some change for another glass of cola. 

"Oh, wait, you won't wan' that," Poul said as he took a sickle back and put some local coins in its place. 

"That's the second time you mix up your coins, been abroad?" the lady who'd planted herself between Poul and Nathan asked. "I don't recognise it."

Arty cursed. This was getting out of hand! He got up from his seat.

"Come on guys, it's time we got back!" he said, pulling on Poul's sleeve to get his attention.

Poul looked around. "Why? I just got a fresh cola."

"How many did you have?" Arty asked. He still didn't know what was in it, but he was pretty sure it wasn't just cola.

"I dunno. Does it matter?"

"Yes, eh, _no_, but I think we oughta get back to the hotel anyhow," Arty said.

"Not until I finish my drink," Poul pointed out.

"You've had enough!" Arty exclaimed. "Come on, let's leave."

"What idiot put you in charge?" Poul asked, annoyed. "Lighten up, we're having fun here!"

Arty looked at Nathan and Ramon, but it didn't take him long to determine he wouldn't get any help there. They both had a full glass in front of them, too.

"It's not that late, it's not even one o'clock yet," Nathan threw in.

Damn, their Professors would've long noticed them missing, now. Not to mention his friends were in no shape to be sneaking into the hotel unnoticed.

"If you want to leave, we'll make sure your friends get home safely… when we're all through here," one of the lady's offered, giggling.

"No thanks, I'll wait," Arty said. No way he was leaving his friends here in this state!

"They're all in their rooms," Remus had reported after he'd joined them in the bar. "So far."

Hermione had nodded, and they'd taken a drink and discussed the day. After a short while, she'd noticed Snape get restless and she'd gotten up instead. He still looked like a prowler, whether he was dressed in dark blue or black, and besides, this was her outing and she'd take her turn.

Starting at the first floor and working her way up, she checked on the students. The Ravenclaw boys were hanging out watching television and munching Muggle snacks they'd bought that morning. She told them to turn the sound down a little and reminded herself to leave a good tip for housekeeping, there were crumbs all over the bed and the floor, but other than that she had nothing to complain about.

The entire group of Gryffindor and Hufflepuff girls hung out in another room. She'd heard sounds from the television, then a squeal as she knocked, and the sound of the television stopped before the door opened on a bunch of giggling girls. They didn't have to tell her they'd been watching a smut movie. But there weren't any boys in the room and if that were the worst she'd find today, she'd be elated. Pretending she hadn't noticed a thing, she cautioned them to keep the noise down and carried on.

Leroy and Carter were playing exploding snap which was, technically, against the rules since it wasn't a Muggle game, but they were in their room and no Muggle could see or hear it. She told them to put it away and continued on her rounds.

When she knocked on the door of the next girl's room, she could also hear some yelps before the door opened. There hadn't been the sound of a television, though. Instead, she smelled the reason on Mary's breath. 

"Miss Addison, have you been drinking?"

The girl started. "We didn't touch the mini-bar," she said.

Hermione opened the door further and looked in. The two Slytherin girls, Alicia and Sirena, and Mary's Ravenclaw roommate, Katrin, tried to look innocent. There was not a bottle in sight, but Hermione didn't doubt a search of the room would turn up something.

"We didn't do anything you told us not to," Katrin put in.

And she'd watched them like a hawk when they'd been in any Harrod's department that sold alcohol. Had one of them managed to sneak off? Then her eye fell on Sirena's passport, tossed on the desk.

"Room service. Did you forge your passport?"

"Well, technically, it wasn't like we didn't conjure the thing in the first place, how could I forge it if it isn't real?" the girl asked innocently.

"And technically, you didn't say we couldn't order anything. Just that we couldn't go to downstairs or use the mini-bar," Alicia put in. All four girls giggled. Clearly they'd had more than a few sips . 

This time, Hermione was not amused. "You know very well what I meant, all of you. Now kindly hand it over."

Meekly, Sirena opened the door to the clothes' closet and handed Hermione a bottle of Tequila. 

"I'll take this. Ten points off each," Hermione said. Then she remembered something. "Did any of you have the foresight to bring a headache potion?"

Alicia nodded.

Hermione held out her hand once more. "Since we're in Muggle London, you can make do with Muggle aspirin. If you need it when you wake up, I'm sure you will find room service can help you, you know how to call them."

"Aw," Alicia said, but she did not argue as she handed over the small flask.

Hermione pocketed the potion and left the room. Only four students left. Of course, they were the biggest troublemakers, and she wondered if she should've checked on them first.

No one answered her knock on the first door, and she walked over to the adjacent room. Of course, she'd expected the four to hang out together, but she still felt slightly worried.

No one answered her knock on the second door, either. Damn.

Taking the lift down to the lobby, she started to check the bars. The restaurant had four of them, but all but the one she came from were about to close for the night. It was almost eleven. Not a sign of the four boys.

Scowling, she walked back down to the bar where her colleagues sat. 

"Trouble, eh?" Remus said as he saw her expression.

Hermione put the bottle she was still carrying on the table. "Miss Glenfield managed to order this. And I can't find any of the Gryffindor boys or Nathan Plunge."

"Damn, this is good tequila," Sirius said, picking up the bottle. "I'll take it if you don't want it."

"Sirius, did you hear what I was saying?" Hermione asked, irritated. "Those four troublemakers are missing from their rooms and Merlin knows where they are."

"I'm sorry," Sirius said. "We'll all take a look around."

They got up and spread out, checking the various rooms again. A little later they were down in the lobby.

"Pardon me, you aren't looking for four boys, by any chance?" the lady at the reception desk asked.

"Yes, we are," Snape replied. 

"They left some time ago. I thought they acted a bit funny, but I'd seen them in here before. If I'd known they weren't supposed to go out, I would've notified you."

"Thank you," Hermione told her. "Damn. I'll have to go look for them."

"We'll give you a hand," Sirius said.

"You don't know London, and some of us should stay here to keep an eye on the rest of the students," Hermione said. 

"I'll come, since you don't want me to walk through the hotel," Snape said with a smirk.

Hermione sighed and rolled her eyes, but decided not to argue. "Okay."

They grabbed their coats from their rooms and walked out of the hotel. It wasn't far to the nearest pub. It was about to close, the barman had already turned off the music and the last customers were drinking up. 

"It shouldn't be too hard to find them, almost all pubs close at eleven," Hermione said.

"I hope so," Snape replied, sounding dubious.

They tried another one, and yet another. Soon, indeed, the pubs they came to were closed. Only a few had special licenses and were still serving. But none harboured four Hogwarts students.

Snape snarled as they left yet another pub, and Hermione shared his frustration. They'd been looking for an hour, and this was the last pub that was still open within walking distance. She hoped they hadn't taken the tube and got stuck anywhere, but she didn't think that likely. Why would they take the tube when there had been plenty of pubs that were still open at the time they'd left the hotel? Suddenly she remembered hearing something. She didn't really know that much about the London pub scene, since she'd spent most of her life in the Wizarding world, but.. damn, they would never find them if they got themselves in a lock-in somewhere. Not without using magic. She cursed softly.

"What?" Snape asked.

Quickly she explained her suspicion. "Sometimes a pub will lock their doors and turn off the lights, but keep serving those already inside. It's called a lock-in. We'll have to try a locator spell."

"Well, try it," Snape replied.

Making sure no Muggles were close, she performed the charm. Not much later, they stood in front of a small pub.

"Are you sure they're in here? It looks closed," Snape said.

"It's supposed to, I explained that," Hermione snapped. "Alohamora."

The door unlocked and she slid her wand back in her waistband. She pushed the door open and they strode in.

"Sir, lady, I'm sorry, you can't come in," the barman said as he quickly walked around the bar and approached them, blocking their way. "We're closed."

"I can see that," Hermione remarked. She scanned the people in the bar. "I suppose you don't serve any underage kids, either."

"It's pretty dark in here, I can't see everyone's face," the man said. "You really have to leave. We'll be open at noon tomorrow."

Snape didn't even bother to argue as he pushed past the barkeeper, and Hermione followed, ignoring the man's protests.

In the bad light, they could hear their quarry before they could see them.

"Jus' one more."

"No, you're _not _having just one more, that's what you said last time."

"Sod off, 'kay? 'm havin' fun here."

"You're not having fun, you're drunk. We're going back now."

"Aren'. You go if you wan'."

"Come _on_ guys, I'm not leaving you here."

Snape reached them first. "Mr. Chandelier, care to explain what you are doing here?" he asked in a cold voice.

Hermione had rarely seen someone jump quite like Arty did. "Oh shit," he breathed, looking from Snape to her and back. "I… I was trying to get them to come back to the hotel."

"A commendable effort, but a little too late. And it doesn't explain how you got here," Snape remarked.

"How many did they have?" Hermione asked.

"I don't know," Arty replied nervously. "We were just, we just wanted to, just look around, we didn't mean to… oh, damn."

Ramon and Nathan had both turned around and were gaping, open-mouthed, like a couple of fish caught in a net. A Muggle woman was staring at them too, looking more amused than shocked. She was even smiling! Hermione itched to curse the bitch, but well, it wasn't likely she'd kidnapped the students from the hotel. She turned her anger on her charges instead. 

"I suppose it's futile to ask either of you for an explanation at this point," she snapped. They'd gone dead white but they just sat there looking dumb. Damn, how much _had_ they had? And Poul was still sitting with his back to them all, leaning with his elbow on the bar and chatting with another Muggle lady, oblivious to the rest of the world.

Snape reached for Poul, taking him by the shoulder. 

The boy tried to shrug him off, then started to turn. "I _tol_' ye I ain't comin'… Oh."

"Then I suggest you change your plans," Snape told him. 

He pulled the boy off his seat, then took Nathan by the shoulder with his other hand. Hermione grabbed Ramon by the arm and gestured to Arty to follow. With some difficulty, since the three students they held had difficulty walking straight, they hustled them out of the pub. Behind them, the barman rang the bell. 

"Drink up, closing time."

"That's thirty points off each, and a full week of detention," Hermione snapped as soon as they were on the street. She wasn't going to cut Arty Chandelier any slack; he'd gone out with the rest, and his reward for not getting as drunk would be that he wouldn't have to share his friends' hangover tomorrow morning. Correction, this morning. 

They didn't talk as they walked the students back to the hotel. Only Arty, trailing along behind them, kept muttering. "Damnohdamnohdamn." Snape set a quick pace, showing his irritation, and Hermione didn't complain.  

Before too long, Ramon doubled over and puked in the gutter. Soon after, Poul and Nathan followed suit. Hermione snorted in disgust. She seriously considered using a sobering charm, but she knew that the way the boys would be feeling the next morning would do more towards teaching them restraint than all of the lost points and detentions would.

Finally, they turned the corner onto The Strand, only to find a huge commotion. Two fire engines and a couple police cars were parked out front of the hotel, lights flashing, and people were milling in the street.

"It'd be too much to hope that this is a coincidence," Snape remarked dryly. 

Hermione quickly scanned the hotel. "I hope they only set off the alarm," she said as she failed to notice any actual smoke or fire.

As they came closer, Sirius approached them. He threw one look at the still very drunk students and commented, "I bet the two of you had a great time finding them."

"Wonderful. Almost as good a time as it seems you're having," Snape remarked.

"Well, we couldn't let you guys have all the fun."

"What happened?" Hermione asked, breaking up another round of bickering in favor of getting some real information.

Sirius sighed. "Mr. Bianco and Mr. High had trouble with the heater in their room. So, instead of asking for help, they decided to transfigure the thing into a fireplace and light a fire."

Hermione groaned. 

"They extinguished it and transfigured the heater back when they heard the alarm go off, and they came for help then, but it was too late to stop the fire department and the police coming out to investigate. The Muggles are treating it as a glitch in the system, they've just allowed the guests back in. We haven't had a chance yet to ask them for any details, too many Muggles to overhear."

"You mean the entire hotel was evacuated?" Hermione ran a hand through her hair. This wasn't getting any better.

"Most of it. They figured out it was false alarm pretty quickly, considering." 

"And where are the culprits now?" she asked.

"They've gone inside. The Muggles know that whatever set off the alarm happened in or near their room, so they're not allowed to return to it while the fire department and a few technicians are trying to find the problem. They're with Remus in our room," Sirius explained.

"Well, let's take these four inside and I'll have a word with them," Hermione sighed.

Sirius took Nathan from Snape, and they took the boys to their rooms. Fortunately, the fire department had cleared the hotel and they could use the lifts; Hermione didn't want to drag a drunk kid up four flights of stairs. 

Hermione didn't have much experience with alcohol, but Sirius suggested the boys drink lots of water to keep them from getting dehydrated and help them get rid of the alcohol. Instructing Arty to keep an eye on his friends, which he ensured her them he would, Hermione and Snape followed Sirius to the pyromaniacs.

The boys started when they came in. No doubt they weren't too happy to be facing four of their teachers; but well, after everything that had happened tonight she wasn't too happy either.

"Would either of you care to explain what the hell you were thinking?" she asked.

It was Ian High who found his voice first. He bit his lip and started, "We couldn't figure out the heater in our room, Professor. I tried to turn it on but it only blew more cold air into the room and Ricardo looked and he didn't have any luck either. And well, we didn't want to disturb anyone and we thought there wouldn't be any Muggles to see it and we even put the little card on the door that said 'do not disturb' so that we were sure no one would come in, and then we transfigured the heater into a fireplace and used it to warm the room. We only just had it going when a lot of water started to come down from the ceiling and an alarm started going off. It wasn't like we did magic in front of the Muggles, only a little smoke came out before I got the chimney right, and we didn't know the Muggles had a way to detect fire even when they weren't in the room and they'd get so upset about it. I transfigured the heater back but the Muggles still thought there was a fire somewhere."

Hermione sighed deeply.

"We didn't mean to cause any trouble, we really didn't," Ian added nervously when she did not speak immediately.

"I distinctly remember telling everyone _not_ to do magic except in emergencies. I find it hard to believe your room turned cold enough to qualified as such," Hermione remarked. 

The boys shuffled their feet.

"I'm sorry," Ian said quietly.

"Me too," added Ricardo.

Hermione looked from one to the other. 

"You did manage to remove all traces of your little stunt before the Muggles came in?" she asked sharply.

"Yes, Professor," Ricardo ensured her. "I'm sure of it."

Well, that was something, anyhow. Now what was she to do with these two? She frowned.

They were interrupted by a knock on the door. Sirius opened, to find a lady from the hotel standing in the hall.

"I'm sorry, but the boy's room is still not ready, what with the mess the sprinklers made and all. We have taken the liberty to move the luggage to another room on the same floor, room 208. Here is the key. I apologise for the inconvenience this has caused all of you," the woman said.

Hermione came up besides Sirius. She forced herself to smile. "Thank you," she said. "Please, don't worry about it, you have been very helpful. These things happen." She felt really bad for all the trouble they had caused, and she could not even apologise or she would give it all away! 

"Thank you, Miss, Sirs," the lady replied. "If there is anything you need, please call the reception."

"We will, thank you," Sirius assured her, taking the key from her and handing it to Ricardo. 

The lady left, and Hermione turned back to the boys. She glared at them, but truth to tell, she was tired rather than angry. They'd been stupid but they hadn't wilfully gotten themselves into trouble, like the boys she and Snape had just brought back. Yet they had caused a lot of mayhem, for them and for the entire hotel. She looked at Sirius and Remus. Would that be taking the easy way out? She'd already taken off more points today than she had in the entire month she'd been teaching, and she didn't really like it. No, they'd been in charge when this happened, it wasn't evading anything to leave it up to them.

"Sirius, Remus, you two had to deal with this, you should decide what to do with them," she said, gesturing at the two Ravenclaws.

She couldn't see Sirius, as he stood behind her and she kept her eye on the boys, but Remus nodded in agreement. Snape didn't show any reaction, approval or disapproval. Of course, he would often take points off any house but his own, or giving detention, even if others would consider the offence to be outside his jurisdiction. Hm, but he hadn't taken any additional points off the four boys they'd retrieved earlier. Now that she thought about it, it surprised her he had deferred to her in that matter. Had he actually agreed with the penalties she had assigned? 

And turning her attention back to the boys, she saw they looked relieved. Had they been worried about her, or were they only glad Snape wouldn't be the one deciding their fate?

"Twenty points off each, and you will write a detailed essay on the dangers of doing magic among Muggles, four rolls of parchment, to be handed in on Friday," Remus said, breaking off her thoughts.

Hermione nodded, that seemed fair. That wouldn't give them a lot of free time for the next few days, and hopefully they would learn something in the process. 

"Yes, sir," Ian squeaked.

"Yes, sir. Can we, can we go now?" Ricardo asked, nervously fiddling with the room key.

Remus looked around. Hermione nodded, Snape shrugged. Sirius was still standing behind her but must have nodded too. 

"Dismissed," Remus said.

The boys left the room at a near run, and Hermione watched them go. She sighed and ran her hand through her hair again. 

"Anything else? What do we do now?" Remus asked.

Sirius walked past her, to the bed, and sat down. He pulled the bottle of tequila she had confiscated earlier out of his pocket and looked at it. "I say we get drunk, because I'm all out of ideas."

Snape snorted. "How mature."

Hermione shrugged. She thought enough people already were likely to wake with a splitting headache, but Sirius was an adult and it was his own responsibility. "As long as you remember breakfast is at eight," she remarked.

"Of course," Sirius grinned at her.

"I think the students will be smart enough to stay in their rooms for the rest of the night," she said. "But we better check on the three pub crawlers to make sure they are al right."

"Sensible," Snape said. 

He agreed with her again? Hermione almost blinked as she bade her other two colleagues a good night and left with Snape.

A/N:

Makota: thank you! Well, there was the bigger trouble… don't worry, S/H coming up!

Michiru-San: thank you! I'm afraid Severus is going to be a little out of character soon (gotta end up with Hermione some time this weekend!), but I'll try to keep him as close as the challenge requirements allow.

Whisper: thank you again! That would be fun, the Royal Armouries… 'Hey, we have much nicer ones at our school.' Uh-huh ; )

Rosmerta: better? : )

Shewhodares: thank you! Well, here's a late 5 points still.

Kazza: thank you! Shampoo comments are funny but they've become a bit of a cliché too. 

Zoe: Grin, no, of course the peace couldn't last.. would *you* remain in the hotel if you were seventeen and in a big city for the first time in your life? : )

Kjristen: Thank you!! Same as I said to Michiru-San, I'll do my best to keep him as close as I can within the requirements! 

Jana B: Thanks! Yes, the British Museum has sections with artefacts from every part of the world, and the displays I mentioned are real too. They have a website with lots of descriptions and pictures at   I've never been there but I would like to visit, London isn't too far from the Netherlands. And yes, it does make sense there wouldn't be as many Slytherins, doesn't it? I hope the students are not too confusing with eighteen new names but if there'd be only 8 or 10 or so it wouldn't make sense to need four teachers (which was one of the requirements). Sirius and Remus might just have come along for fun but *not* Snape! If anyone's confused about who is who, holler and I'll put the little list I made as a reference for myself underneath one of the chapter's A/N's.


	6. Later that same night

**6.  Later that same night.**

Arty opened the door to the boys' room at Hermione's knock and, still looking very nervous, let them in. Hermione wasn't surprised by the sour smell of more vomit, but right now the boys were sleeping. 

"I suggest you get some sleep too, Mr Chandelier," she told Arty when she was satisfied they'd be okay, if likely somewhat hung over.

"Yes, Professor," he replied quickly, with another nervous squeak. 

Pulling the door shut behind her, she couldn't stifle a yawn. And a deep sigh.

"Still think this field trip is a good idea?" Snape inquired. 

Hermione's eyes shot sideways. Guess he was back to questioning her entire idea. Although he hadn't sounded nasty, more… tired. Just like she was feeling. 

"Actually, yes. These kind of incidents are exactly why they need practical experience in the Muggle world," she replied. "But I had hoped to avoid incidents of this magnitude." 

Snape smirked.

The lift arrived and they stepped in.

"I haven't thanked you yet for agreeing to come," she added. "I know you didn't like the plan from the start."

"Well, you had Albus on your side. It's almost impossible to refuse him."

Ah, of course he would think that. "I didn't ask him to show up," she said.

He started slightly. "You didn't?"

Hermione shook her head. "No." Then she smiled, and added, "but I was very glad of his timing."

"No doubt," Snape replied dryly.

The lift arrived on their floor and the doors opened. 

"While I question the wisdom of getting drunk, I could do with a glass of something. Would you like to join me?" Snape asked as they stepped off.

Hermione started. "Are you inviting me?" she asked, unaware that she had snapped at him for asking almost the same thing the previous evening. 

"Yes," Snape replied simply.

"Well, sure, thank you," Hermione replied, surprised but pleased by his offer. 

She followed him into his room. The only chair in the room held Snape's luggage, and she sat down on the bed while he checked the mini-bar.

"What would you like?" he asked.

"What do you have?" she asked in return. 

"Pretty much everything, it looks like. Although I think the wine is rather too cold straight out of the refrigerator. I can also call room service."

"I think we've bothered the hotel personnel enough for one night. The white wine will be fine, it won't stay cold long," Hermione replied.

Snape nodded. He handed her the small bottle of wine, and opened a beer for himself.

"Thank you," Hermione said. 

Snape sat down on the other end of the bed and for a few moments, neither of them spoke. 

Hermione sipped her wine –it was rather cold, but not bad for a drink from a mini-bar. "So how did you like the museum?" she asked after a while. She wasn't a really chatty person any more than he was, but she felt she had to say something and this was probably a safe subject.

"It was quite interesting," Snape allowed. "I never before wanted to bother with the Muggles and visit one of their museums, but it was fascinating to see the items on display instead of in a book."

"You've read books about Muggle history?" Hermione asked.

"That surprises you?"

"I had the impression few wizards did," Hermione replied. Truth to tell, she had mentioned the museum when she'd asked him to come on this trip, but it'd just been a guess. She really didn't know him, now did she?

Snape shrugged. "The benefits of a classical education. I doubt my knowledge of history holds up to Muggle standards, but at least I can keep ancient Greece and Rome apart."

Hermione giggled. "He was right though, Roman history does suit you." 

"You think so?" 

She nodded. "Yes. I could see you as a Roman senator."

"Cruel and ruthless?" he asked sarcastically.

"No! Just.. powerful." Oh god, had she just said that? But it was true. Of course she knew many of the Roman emperors were known for their cruelty and ruthlessness, but when she thought of ancient Rome she thought of strength and power more than anything else. And she had to admit that now she wasn't a student anymore, that was what she saw in Snape, too.

Snape snorted. "Really. I'm sure most people would be more inclined towards those first two character traits, if they were to describe me."

"Well, that is how act towards your students," Hermione said.

"Most of them are dunderheads."

"Not all of them are," Hermione threw back.

"No, not all of them." Snape looked at her meaningfully. "But the smart ones are often likely to get into trouble with what they know, and the last thing they need is encouragement."

Hermione couldn't help but grin. 

"Not that it stopped you, of course," Snape continued. "Polyjuice Potion in your second year, Veritaserum and Wolfsbane Potion in fifth, did I miss anything?"

"Several, but the rest were in sixth and seventh year. By then I had a charge card from Gringott's and could order what I needed by owl," Hermione replied. "And… I apologise for taking the ingredients for the earlier potions."

Snape looked at her for several moments. "Thank you. It doesn't happen often someone apologises to me for anything."

"Maybe they're afraid to," Hermione suggested.

"More likely they just don't care. I'm just a greasy git, after all," Snape remarked.

"No you're not," Hermione said. "A lot of people think so because you act like that but I don't think that's all there is to you."

"I didn't think you thought much better of me," Snape told her.

Hermione paused. She hadn't, until recently, but this weekend she'd seen little things that told her he wasn't all that bad. Quite the contrary, in fact. She found herself intrigued and attracted by what she learned about him. But she wasn't quite bold enough to say so straight out. 

"Why do you act like that?" she asked instead of explaining. "Not just to your students but to everyone, the rest of the staff."

Snape snorted again. "A good number of them are dunderheads too, and the rest are so cheerful it's sickening. Minerva is so annoyingly Gryffindor, I won't even go there. And, well, it's what people expect from a Death Eater."

"You haven't been a Death Eater for a long time." Damn, did he have to be so negative about himself?

"I'll always be a Death Eater. The mark has faded but it will never go away, even now Voldemort is dead."

"What was he like? Voldemort?" she asked.

"Lonely, but funny. He had a great sense of humour," Snape commented dryly. 

"I never knew _you_ had a sense of humour," she returned.

"Sarcasm, you mean."

Hermione sighed again. "No, well, yes. Oh, never mind, I guess there's a lot I don't know about you."

"Few people do. Or care."

"I care," Hermione said.  

"Do you?" he asked sceptically.

"Yes, I do," she replied. She still wasn't sure why, but she knew it was true. She also didn't know what made her move closer to him. Draining the last of the wine, she put the empty glass on the small desk next to the bed and, instead of taking her leave and returning to her own room, she sat back down, closer now.

"I care a lot," she said softly.

"It's been a long time since anyone said that to me," he replied. "I don't think anyone has meant it since I carry this." He put his hand on his left arm.

Hermione reached over and carefully put her hand on top of his. To her surprise, he did not pull back. "Their loss."

He blinked, then glanced at her with his dark eyes, searching her face. 

Emboldened by his closeness, she reached up with her other hand, pushing his long hair away from his face. "I'm beginning to see there's a lot more to you than just an ex-Death Eater."

"And there's more to you than just a bossy Know-It-All," he replied. Then he did pull his hand away, but only to reach out for her, pull her close, and kiss her. 

Hermione felt a stab of excitement rush through her as his lips touched hers. For a moment, he seemed to hesitate, but she put her arm around him and pulled him close, parting her lips slightly as she returned his kiss. 

Even after a day and a half here in London, she could still smell the Potions lab on him, a mixture of hundreds of herbs and other ingredients. She breathed his scent and his closeness, wrapping her arms around him.

He responded by running his hands over her back, and she shivered in anticipation. She kissed him harder, more hungrily, exploring his mouth with her tongue. 

Much too soon, she was out of breath and came up for air. She looked into his eyes, breathing hard. His dark eyes met hers, and she saw her hunger mirrored in them, but also a flash of doubt. 

"Hermione, are you..," he started, hesitantly, and she could feel his arm tense around her. His left arm. 

She took a slow, deep breath, studying him with her own, brown eyes. He always acted so cold, so hard, but it was a shield for his own self-doubt and self-hatred, for the past he couldn't let go. Now, she had seen through and found the man he could've been, if it weren't for Voldemort and the war. She didn't hold any illusions she could persuade him to drop his shield completely, but she didn't have to. The rest of the world could damn well take care of itself, all she needed was a crack big enough to slip inside. 

"Sh, Severus," she shushed him, pulling him close again.

To her relief, he no longer hesitated. His lips found hers again, and she gasped as he slipped his hands under her sweater, still caressing her back.

Without stopping their kiss, she ran her hands up, pushing his jacket off his shoulders. He did not protest, and returned his hands to their former position as soon as they were out of the jacket sleeves. Slowly he worked her sweater up, and she laughed when she discarded the garment, then continued to work on his shirt buttons. 

The feel of his naked skin electrified her. She noticed several pale scars, but she didn't linger over them. Perhaps he would tell her some day, or perhaps he wouldn't, right now she didn't care. All she cared about was here and now. 

He undid the clasp of her bra, then ran his hand over her breasts, softly caressing them. She gasped again as she felt his long, nimble fingers feel for her nipples. 

She fumbled for his pants, slipping her hands in, feeling his hardness. She pushed his pants down and out of the way, then stroked his throbbing member. 

She could feel herself get moist, and she was glad when he managed to get her jeans lose, one-handed, as he kept working on her breasts with the other. She kicked off her shoes and slipped out of her jeans and panties completely, leaving them in a heap on the floor. He followed her example.

Tossing aside a discarded piece of clothing without pausing to look what or whose it was, Hermione laid back on the bed, and he crouched over her. 

He leaned down and kissed her breasts, gently sucking he breasts, teasing her nipples with his tongue. Hermione breathed as she felt her nipples get hard. She felt him slide one hand down her body, then felt his fingers as he found her hot and wet slit. She opened her legs for him. 

"Hermione," he said softly as he looked up.

"Severus, please take me, take me now," she breathed. She needed him, more than anything else.

He smiled, a genuine smile, then softly whispered her name again as he positioned himself and pushed his erect penis up against her. 

"Yes, Severus, yes," she whispered in reply, encouraging him as he carefully entered her. She hissed in joy as she felt him fill her. He drew back, then pushed forward again, thrusting slowly at first, then faster and faster. Hermione pushed herself up against him hungrily, savouring his touch. She arched her back as waves of ecstasy flooded through her, then she felt him tense as he came, deep inside her.

Hermione sighed softly as she felt him relax. She kissed him as he laid down next to her, slipping out of her, then snuggled up against him as he held her in his strong arms.

A/N 1: Okay, what the heck, I put the entire thing up here, it's really short anyhow, and I sure don't think it's worse than R. I've heard from a few writers their stories got deleted for pretty tame stuff but it's a pain to have to surf to another site for a few paragraphs, I'll risk it. 

A/N's:

Whisper: Thank you again! That is where the quote came from, the challenge included a number of quotes from Alan Rickman movies. I should really go see some more, but I'm too busy writing, I don't even own a tv and vcr. : )

Aine Deande: Thank you for your wonderful review!

ChishionoTenshi: Thank you! I've posted a list of students at the bottom of chapter 1 (seemed more logical and convenient for anyone who is still new to the story). I thought about getting them drunk but I don't see Severus as someone who'd get drunk to a point where he loses control. It's more difficult this way, but I'll go for the angsty conversation instead…

Makota: Thank you again! 

MadAboutHarry: Thanks for your review! I know what you mean, I work a lot with kids too, in a history theme park, lots of schools coming to visit. I sometimes go into 'teacher mode' too, outside the park. And since I've started on HP I frequently catch myself wanting to give or take points when I got a group of kids with me!

Kazza: Thank you! Snape isn't all that bad, really : ) 

Jana B, Samson, Zoe and Andrian: Thank you!


	7. Sunday morning

A/N: I decided to post the full version here, it isn't so bad and posting different versions here and on Whispers is pretty inconvenient for many people. If you didn't read it yet, check out the last couple paragraphs of the previous chapter first!

**7.  Sunday morning.**

Hermione woke to the sound of the telephone. Still half-asleep, she noticed Severus reaching over and picking it up. He grumbled something into the receiver, then replaced it. 

"Whazdat?" Hermione managed, bleary-eyed.

"Wake-up call," Severus replied. "As you should know, being Professor Muggle Studies and all."

Hermione pushed herself up on an elbow, wishing she could think of a good comeback, but it always took her a few moments before she was anywhere near awake. The only thing she could think of was far simpler. "What time is it?" 

"Six thirty."

"That early?" Hermione asked, shuddering.

Severus shrugged. "I requested it before I knew how late it would be before we'd actually get any sleep. I didn't think to change it."

Hermione grinned as she recollected the previous night. "I forgive you," she said.

"Ah, you do?" he replied dryly.  

She nodded, then reached over and kissed him. "Always." 

For a moment she was tempted to go on, then she recalled the _rest_ of the previous evening. With a sigh, she pushed herself up again, shaking her head. "I think we better make sure we are in the lobby well before the first students. I don't know about you, but I really want to save the hotel from any more disasters. Oh, damn, I'm gonna be supervising detentions all next week."

"I'll be happy to take some of those," Severus offered.

"Thank you, I would appreciate that," Hermione replied. She rarely gave detentions to her students, she hadn't thought of what she'd give them to do for an entire week.

"Just don't expect me to be easier on the Gryffindors, after last night."

Hermione flashed a quick smile, but she replied in a more serious tone. "Severus, if I didn't care for you as you are, I wouldn't be here."

Severus nodded slowly, then smiled. "I'm glad you are."

Hermione returned his smile as she gathered her clothing. She pulled on her sweater and jeans, then, before returning to her own room for a shower and fresh clothes, gave a quick kiss to Severus. Okay, maybe not so quick, but they had woken up plenty early.

They still made it down to the lobby well before the first students. Hermione stepped out of the lift to find Severus sitting almost exactly like he had the day before, reading the Sunday Times. She smiled, then sat down and grabbed a piece of the paper as well. Out here, his shield was back in place.

All too soon, the students started to trickle in. Ricardo and Ian first, not quite as boisterous as they'd been yesterday. Then the girls, the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs giggling and blushing. Hermione pretended she didn't know what they'd been up to last night. Severus raised an eyebrow at her but she simply shrugged. She wasn't going to tell on the girls, it hadn't been that long ago she'd been seventeen and watching a smut movie was pretty innocent compared to the trouble the rest of the students had been in, the previous night. 

Sirius and Remus joined them looking fine as ever. Hermione suspected they'd either changed their plan about the tequila or they had brought a hangover potion. Technically illegal here, but she needed them in good shape. Such were the privileges of being a teacher.

The four pub crawlers came down last of all, looking rather pale. Even so, they managed to turn paler when they saw her and Severus. Even Arty. Especially Arty, as he'd had his wits about him all during the previous evening's events and probably remembered a lot more than the others did.

"And how are you feeling?" Hermione inquired as she got up and led the way to the restaurant for breakfast.

"Terrible," Nathan said.

Ramon glanced at her uneasily. "I suppose some _real _headache meds are out of the question."

"There's Tylenol or aspirin," Hermione told him.

Ramon groaned. 

"How do Muggles deal with this?" Poul wanted to know.

Hermione shrugged. Truth to tell that was something she didn't quite understand either. 

"What did you guys do, man?" Carter wanted to know. "You missed all the fun with the fire alarm."

Ramon shrugged. "We sneaked out of the hotel, found a bar, then we sat and drank for a while. I think. I don't remember a whole lot until Professor Granger and Professor Snape were standing there."

Sirena looked at him with wide eyes. "Oh, man, and I thought we were fucked up last nite."

"Language, Miss Glenfield," Remus warned.

"Sorry."

Alicia smirked at the discomfort of the Gryffindor. "At least I don't have a headache anymore after seeing yours. How about some 'killer' toast?"

Ramon looked at her, horrified. "I don't even want to think of food!"

"Suit yourself," Alicia shrugged, walking towards the buffet.

"You really should eat something," Sirius advised. "And drink lots of water, you guys did drink water last night as I told you, didn't you?" 

They nodded, then quietly made their way to the breakfast line. 

After breakfast Hermione sent all the students up to their room to pack. They wouldn't return to Hogwarts until after lunch, but checkout time was at ten. She had arranged so they could leave their luggage at the desk and pick it up later. 

She quickly gathered her own things, then made it downstairs hoping to be there before any of the students, which she managed just barely. Ian and Ricardo, who were still half packed after their midnight move the previous night, came down almost immediately after her. Last to make it downstairs was Severus, grumbling about folding clothes, small suitcases, shrinking charms and house-elves. Hermione grinned and he glared at her, but not as darkly as he would have, once. She smiled as she oversaw the stowing of the luggage.

Leaving the hotel on foot, she led the way to Trafalgar Square.

Since it was Sunday, she had planned for a leisurely morning, followed by lunch in a pub she knew near Victoria Station. Fortunately, the weather was still nice. They found a small stand selling pigeon food, and soon the students were laughing and taking pictures while the pigeons flocked around them. Others climbed all over the lions, taking pictures while sitting on top of the larger-than-life statues. Only the three hung-over boys found a quiet spot on one of the benches. 

Sirius and Remus were feeding pigeons with the students, but Hermione leaned against the basin of the big fountain. Severus joined her and they watched the students in silence. After a while, Hermione noticed Severus was staring at her rather than at the students. A smile spread over her face. 

"Still think this trip is such a bad idea?" Hermione inquired innocently, shooting his question from the previous night back at him.

"I must admit it has greatly improved since late last night," he admitted, allowing a brief smile although he made it disappear just as quick, here in public. "But we're not home yet."

"Ever the optimist," Hermione replied.

"I prefer realist," he said. "And I notice you're not letting them out of your sight, either."

"True enough," she admitted. She kept one eye on their charges even now, watching as Alicia and Sirena climbed down off the lions and made their way over to the stand selling pigeon food.

"Perhaps we can come back here some other weekend, just the two of us," she suggested.

"I might consider that," Severus replied carefully. 

Hermione smiled. Coming from him, that was an enthusiastic response. Lila, from Gryffindor, glanced in their direction, until her friend Gina spoke to her and she turned away.

"You realise as soon as even one student finds out the entire school will know before the first period on Monday," Severus remarked.

"They'll get used to it," Hermione said. "Unless you mind?"

"They've said worse things about me," he replied quietly.

A flock of pigeons descended on the two Slytherin girls, and Katrin was trying to shake off some of the birds that had landed on her so she could take a picture with her Muggle camera. Remus was helping Leroy change the film in his. Everything looked perfectly fine, until a loud, angry shriek cut through the cooing of the pigeons. 

A large shape descended and the pigeons that had settled down on the Slytherin girls exploded in a panicking cloud of feathers. Seconds later, the cloud cleared, leaving only a few fluttering feathers and revealing a huge Eagle Owl landing on Sirena's shoulder. The immediate area was completely clear of pigeons.

"Oh, damn," Hermione said. She started towards the girl.

Severus was a few steps ahead. "Where'd your owl come from? Send him away," he hissed. 

Sirena looked as startled as anyone. "I'm sorry, sir, I didn't know he'd followed me." She reached up to dislodge the bird, but voices erupted from all around.

"Oh, Miss, can you hold?" 

"Wow, I want a picture, wait, don't move!" 

"Does it eat pigeon food? Can I feed it?"

Hermione glanced around and to her dismay she found they were in the middle of a quickly growing crowd of Muggles. Because of the unseasonably nice weather, the square had been quite crowded with both tourists and locals, and it wasn't every day an owl landed on someone's shoulder. Several cameras were clicking already.

Severus also looked around, scowling darkly, but he seemed at a loss how to handle the problem. Hermione quickly made her way to Sirena, who had by now transferred her owl to her wrist and looked rather embarrassed.

For a moment, Hermione wasn't sure what to do either. First, they had to get rid of the owl. "Send him away, Miss Glenfield," she said, softly but urgently.

The majestic owl did not agree immediately, hooting in an annoyed manner, then spreading his wings to their full, 5 ½ foot width, before finally taking off to a lot of ooh'ing and aah'ing from the crowd.

Hermione looked around, frantically trying to think of a convincing story to tell the enthusiastic Muggles who were milling about, firing off questions at Sirena, herself, and the students who happened to be nearby. There were way too many to Obliviate them all, and then there were the pictures. 

Fortunately, the students avoided answering, and instead of making something up or telling contradictory stories they looked at her and Severus for guidance. Unfortunately, this also meant it was up to them to come up with an explanation. Another convention? Somehow she thought bird watchers or members of nature conservatory groups didn't usually take the birds they cared for along to their gatherings. Hm, at least that was a start.

"We're from a bird sanctuary," Hermione ventured. "It's the hardest thing to get one of these birds to return to the wild after hand-raising them."

Some of the Muggles nodded, but others frowned, which didn't surprise Hermione. She thought it was a pretty far-fetched explanation, too. 

"I didn't know there was a sanctuary near London," a woman said. "I love birds, do you allow visitors?"

"It's a private facility, and rather far up north," Severus replied, his tone of voice discouraging further conversation.

The woman looked taken aback. "Oh. Well, that's too bad then."

Unfortunately, an elderly Muggle man was not so easily convinced. "I thought that species wasn't native to Britain," he remarked. "Even Eurasian Eagle Owls don't nest here anymore, and that, was it a Giant Eagle Owl? Astonishing!"

Oh, great, just their luck. Thousands of Muggles who wouldn't be able to tell the difference between a barn owl and a tawny owl if you handed them a bird guide, and they had to run into someone who could recognise a Giant Eagle Owl on sight. The man was right, this particular species came from Africa. 

"We, eh, rescued it from a bird smuggler," Hermione ventured. "As a chick."

To her relief, the man swallowed her fabrications. "Oh, I understand! Horrible, those people who smuggle exotic animals into the country. They should string them up. Or stuff them into a small suitcase to suffocate."

Judging from the confused looks on the faces of those students who were close enough to hear, they were completely lost, but Hermione nodded in agreement. "Exactly. Terrible what they do. Now, you must excuse us, we have a very full program for today."

"Of course," the man replied. "Have a nice day."

"Thank you, same to you," Hermione said cordially. She glanced around, hoping to make a quick getaway. Her story had holes in it big enough for, well, a Giant Eagle Owl with its wings spread, and she didn't want to be around when the man realized no genuine bird rescuers would release an African owl in Britain.

Fortunately, Sirius and Remus had already gathered the students who had not been involved in the latest incident. She led the way to the tube station while Severus berated Sirena. 

"I didn't think he'd follow me here, I really didn't," Sirena explained.

"No, obviously you didn't think," Severus snapped. "You've had him long enough, if I remember right. You should've realised by now he's jealous."

"I'm sorry," Sirena said.

"Two rolls of parchment on the behaviour of Eagle Owls in captivity, Miss Glenfield, hand it in on Friday. And make sure it is satisfactory or you will still clean the Owlery," Severus decided. 

"Yes, sir!" Sirena replied, and quickly fell back to walk with Alicia.

Once they were out of sight of the people who had witnessed the owl incident, Hermione paused. The problem was, she'd planned to remain at Trafalgar Square for another hour, and it was now only eleven. Too early for lunch, the large pub she had selected for lunch wouldn't even open until noon. She conferred with Severus, Remus and Sirius.

"We could fill in the hour walking to the pub and shooting some more pictures along the way, but the pub is also close to Westminster Cathedral. If we take the tube now, we have time for a quick look around there."

"If I know anything about Muggles, there's likely to be a mass there on a Sunday," Severus frowned. 

Hermione nodded. "There are masses all day long, but they allow tourists in even so."

"Excuse me, I have to go pray," Severus remarked dryly. "Taking a walk is definitely safer."

"Of course you'd like to avoid any kind of church, too many crosses. I'm surprised you can stand the daylight all weekend," Sirius said.

Severus glared at him. "And you'll have to wait outside, I don't think they allow dogs in."

"I'd like to see the Cathedral," Remus interrupted their bickering. "And the students are pretty quiet, this morning."

They were, not too surprisingly since most of them hadn't had that much sleep. And a couple of them had been complaining about the walk from the hotel to the square that morning, they might even be less trouble in the Cathedral than on a longer walk.

"We'll risk it. It'll only be a brief visit," Hermione decided.

The tube ride went off without a hitch. As long as she took them into the tube just after something went wrong, Hermione thought, they behaved themselves. 

The Cathedral was very close to the station. She took the students apart on the sidewalk. 

"Remember, acoustics are such that your voices will carry, so be very careful what you say, even if you speak softly among yourselves. Don't disturb the mass, don't touch anything, and don't speak with the locals."

Everyone nodded, but of course they'd promised to behave before and had still caused trouble, whether willingly or by accident. She'd have to keep a close eye on them. They entered.

"Wow, I didn't know they could built something this big!" Leroy said, much too loud of course. 

"Sh," Hermione hissed. At least he hadn't used the word Muggles.

"Sorry," he said, more quietly now. He took out his camera and started to take pictures. That'd probably keep him busy, the Hufflepuff really liked his new camera.

Walking quietly, they circled the nave, looking at the chapels. To Hermione's relief, the students were pretty calm, pointing out a number of things like they had the previous day at the museum, but keeping their voices down. She heard a few whispers. 

"How come they have stars on the ceiling? It's the middle of the day!" Yolanda wanted to know when they reached the Chapel of St. Paul.

"Those people aren't dressed like Muggles at all, their clothes are closer to wizard clothing than to what the Muggles wear," Katrin  remarked as she spotted the priests. 

"That guy with the wavy hair looks like your mom," Lila told Ricardo a little later, pointing at a mosaic of some saint or other.

"My mother does not have a beard!" Ricardo replied, indignantly. Lila giggled, a little louder than necessary, and of course Gina joined her, only stopping when Severus glared at them.

"How come they use candles while they also have electricity?" Carter wanted to know. 

"It's tradition," Hermione explained. She truly didn't know that much about churches and Cathedrals, her parents hadn't been religious and she had only attended church a few times when she'd been staying at a friend's house for the weekend. 

To her relief, they'd made it all the way around without any major disasters. She counted the students. And counted them again. Uh-oh. 

"Damn, someone's missing," she said quietly to the other teachers. "Who's not here?"

Severus, Sirius and Remus looked around as well. 

"Mr. Jones," Remus was the first to find. 

Leroy, that figured. He had probably lagged behind taking yet another picture. Hopefully that was all he was doing.

"We should look for him," Hermione sighed.

"I'll watch the students and hold them together," Severus said.

"Sure, like yesterday," Sirius said lightly. 

Severus glared at him. 

"Thank you, Severus," Hermione said, ignoring Sirius' remark. "Come on, Sirius, Remus, he's gotta be somewhere in here."

"I'll check the shop," Remus offered. "He might've run out of film."

Hermione nodded. "Good idea. We'll circle around then, I'll go clockwise, you go counter clockwise," she told Sirius, and set off.

It couldn't be too difficult to find the boy, she thought, it was unlikely he'd have left the Cathedral. She walked quickly, glancing in each of the Chapels as she passed. 

Suddenly, she spotted her quarry coming towards her.

"Mr. Jones, where were you? You know you were supposed to stay with the group," she said.

"Sorry, Professor," he replied, "I was just changing my film again, I managed it by myself this time, and then I tried to catch up but I just _had_ to get a picture of the ornate pillar in that one Chapel, and the mosaic in the next and then I saw this…"

"Yes, yes, fine. Did you talk to anyone?" Hermione asked.

Leroy shook his head. 

"Good," Hermione sighed in relief. "Then come along and do not stray from the group again."

"No, Professor, thank you, Professor," Leroy assured her.

She didn't take any points, she was long glad he hadn't got into any serious trouble. She walked back towards the rest, fortunately spotting Sirius along the way. Remus had returned to the group after checking the shop.

Together once more they left the Cathedral and walked the short distance to the pub, a pleasant place that had plenty of room for the entire party. 

Lunch went really well. The students were starting to get the food thing down, not asking any awkward questions. Not that she let her guard down completely. She was getting seriously tired, but she had to admit that was not all the student's fault. No, she didn't regret last night in any possible way, but she would be glad once they'd made it back to Hogwarts. Well, after lunch they'd ride the tube back to the hotel, pick up their bags, walk the short distance to the Leaky Cauldron, and Floo home. All things they'd done before, there really was no reason there'd be any trouble.

The weather was still sunny as they walked down the steps into the tube station. Leroy was taking yet another picture, the boy was getting as bad as Colin Creevey!

The station was crowded, but it didn't take long before the tube arrived. Suppressing a yawn, Hermione looked around to make sure her entire group would make it into the tube. 

"Guys, don't push," she warned them, as a good number of people were getting off the tube at this station as well. The last passenger got off, and the students in front started to climb in. Sirius hopped on, and Remus. She brought up the rear with Severus. Suddenly, a young man pushed his way through the students from inside the tube, jumped off, jostled Xandra and Leroy and took off down the platform at high speed. 

"Hey, bastard, that's mine!" Leroy shouted. And before Hermione or Severus could stop him, "Locomotor Mortis!"

The thief smacked against the ground with a yelp of surprise, Muggles everywhere turned to look.

"Leroy!" Hermione hissed, at the same time Severus hissed, "Mr. Jones!"

Leroy turned, looking pale. At least he'd put his wand away again.

Severus pulled his wand from his sleeve. "Finite Incantatem," he muttered, releasing the man, but the thief remained on the floor, likely too afraid to move.

_"Please stand away from the doors." _The tube was about to leave. Sirius had made his way to the doors and looked at her. 

"Go, just go, we'll meet at the Leaky Cauldron," Hermione said, gesturing at him to stay inside. They couldn't hold up the tube to get off again without being noticed, and the bigger the group, the more attention they'd draw. 

"I'm sorry, I didn't think…," Leroy started. 

Hermione sighed. "That could be the motto of this trip," she remarked dryly.

As the doors closed and the tube pulled out of the station, they turned and strode toward the thief, Leroy and Xandra, who was also still with them, in tow. Hermione glanced around. As so often in the Muggle world, no one had actually moved toward the fallen man, and most people were pretending very hard to look the other way. Still, plenty of people were watching them surreptitiously.

Severus picked up Leroy's camera. "I believe this is yours," he said silkily. 

Leroy gingerly reached out and took it. "Thank you, sir," he replied.

The thief, meanwhile, started to blubber. He looked at them. "Please sir, madam, I didn't mean to, I'll return everything. Just let me go."

"You can move, so get up," Severus started to tell the man, but the thief reached into his coat and handed Severus an entire handful of wallets.

If the situation weren't so messed up already, Hermione would have wished for Leroy taking a picture right then. Severus looked horrified, staring as if the wallets were a cluster of poisonous snakes. As it was, she groaned. With just their camera, they might have been able to Obliviate the thief and make him believe he'd simply tripped. Now, they were holding the culprit's entire morning's loot, and they'd have to do something with it. 

"I think we better continue this discussion elsewhere," Hermione suggested. "There's a police station nearby the hotel we stayed at."

"Get up," Severus told the man, who quickly scrambled to his feet.

Still watched by a good number of Muggles, they walked to the exit of the tube station. Once outside, they started in the direction of the hotel, but only far enough that they were out of sight of Victoria Station. Unfortunately, the street was all but empty.

"Cover me," Hermione said quietly.

Severus immediately moved closer, effectively shielding her actions from any onlookers. Leroy and Xandra needed a prod before they, too, caught on. 

Shielded from prying eyes, Hermione reached for her wand. "Obliviate," she said softly. 

The thief looked around, confused for a moment. 

"Thank you for your directions, I'm sure we can find our way from here," Severus told him smoothly. 

"Uh, eh, yes, of course, no problem," the man stammered. With a small shrug, he took off down the street. 

Hermione sighed. There really wasn't anything they could do about the people in the tube station, hopefully they would think the man had merely tripped. Leroy's spell had not been too loud, and Muggles saw what they expected to see. After all, there's no such thing as magic, right? Thank Merlin Leroy hadn't used a more obvious spell like Furnunculus. 

"What do we do with these?" Severus asked, indicating the wallets. 

"Too many people saw us to drop them off at the station anonymously," Hermione said. "If they go and ask around where the loot came from, they'll probably find someone who witnessed the man 'tripping', and they'll want to know why we didn't report it. I better go to the station and convince them that was all that happened."

"Do you want me to come?" Severus asked. 

Hermione considered his offer. She really didn't want to face the officers alone, even if she would try her best not to get any further than the front desk. But she wasn't sure whether Severus knew enough of the details of Muggle police stations not to raise suspicion, and it would also mean they'd have to get their story all worked out. And she really, really didn't want to take the students into the station.

"I think I better go by myself," she decided. "You take care of him." She indicated Leroy, who gulped. Surely he hadn't thought they'd forget. Likely he'd just hoped she would be the one to decide on his fate. Well, too bad, she'd already taken more points in two days than in the entire five weeks she'd been teaching, and she'd be the one dealing with the cops. 

They walked to the police station, since she really didn't want to go back on the tube and run into any people who'd witnessed the event. She set a brisk pace, and the two students knew not to complain.

Entering the Charing Cross police station, she walked up to the front desk.  

"I inadvertently came upon some stolen items I would like to drop off," she told the officer on duty. 

The man looked at the wallets she handed him and frowned. "I have to make a report on this."

"I really don't have a lot of time, I'm here with a group of students and we're on a tight schedule. We have far to travel today," Hermione excused herself, making herself sound harried without too much difficulty..

"I'm sorry, Mrs..?"

"Miss Granger."

"Miss Granger, but I have to insist on taking at least your name and a few brief facts. If you would tell me what happened?"

"Well, we were about to take the tube at Victoria Station when this man jumped out. He grabbed the camera of one of my students, trying to make off with it, when he must have tripped –he fell flat on his face. It knocked the breath out of him and apparently gave him quite a scare, because when my colleague and I approached him he didn't just hand over the camera but also pushed all of this into our hands. He even pretended to come to the station with us but once above ground he took off," she rattled vaguely.

"Do you have a description of this man?" the officer asked. 

Hermione shrugged. "White, 'bout twenty years old, blonde." She was so vague on purpose. She couldn't divert too far from the truth because of all the witnesses, but she didn't want the guy found. He'd have no recollection of the event, after her memory charm. 

The officer sighed. "That's not much to go on, Miss."

"I'm sorry, it went all really fast and we did get the camera back after all," she said. She didn't like playing stupid but she'd do her duty to society in the Wizarding world rather than here. "If you need nothing else, I really must go back to my students."

"Almost done, Miss. Your address?" the officer asked.

"Is that really necessary?"

"I'm afraid so," the officer replied.

Hermione gave in, giving the man her parent's address again. Then she pointedly checked the clock on the wall.

"That's all, Miss. We will contact you if we need anything else."

"Thank you," Hermione replied. 

She quickly left the station. This _had_ to be the last thing to go wrong. She caught up with Severus and the two students outside. 

"How'd it go?" Severus asked. 

She shrugged. "I think he's thoroughly convinced I'm an airhead who's too stupid or too careless to get a decent description of a criminal and who doesn't care enough to make a report. And I have to instruct my parents of what to do if they call, he insisted on some sort of contact information. But I guess it could've been worse."

"You acted the airhead? I'm sorry I missed that," Severus remarked, lifting an eyebrow. 

She glared at him. "No doubt."

He grinned, and she dropped her glare, laughing instead. 

Leroy and Xandra looked so uneasy she almost laughed again when she noticed their faces. 

"Come on, let's get our bags and get to the Leaky Cauldron before Sirius and Remus start a search party," she suggested. 

The two students almost ran the short distance there. Fortunately both the hotel and the Leaky Cauldron were really close, and there were no more mishaps. 

Sirius and Remus were waiting with the rest of the students, who were chatting excitedly –and loudly- now they were once again among wizards and didn't have to watch every word. Tom, the landlord, was clearly enjoying the stories of the students, grinning broadly as he listened to them.

Hermione handed out the Floo powder. They send the students first, and finally Hermione stepped through. 

The students were greeted by several of their friends and house mates who had been waiting for them. 

"I knew it'd be a bed idea for Snape to go with you guys," Simon Ralte, a sixth-year Gryffindor was saying. "All Houses but Slytherin are down a bunch."

Hermione coughed, and the boy turned. "For your information, I took most of those points. Ask your house mates why, I'm sure they'll be happy to tell you."

Of course the adventures would all sound wonderful to those who'd remained behind, even the disasters –especially the disasters- but well, that's how kids were. She shook her head.

Albus had also come down to meet them. "How did it go?" he asked eagerly. 

"We made it back in one piece, but we ran into a few glitches along the way," Hermione replied.

"I want to hear all about it," Albus said, his eyes twinkling. Hermione knew he'd enjoy hearing the adventures of the students almost as much as the students' housemates would. 

"Of course," Hermione replied. 

"Tea at four?" the Headmaster asked.

Hermione nodded. "I'll be there."

The students dispersed, going to their own dormitories to unpack and to tell their adventures to their friends, and soon only she, Sirius, Remus and Severus were left. 

"So, do it again next year?" she asked.

"Absolutely," Remus said. 

"You bet," Sirius put in.

Hermione turned to Severus.

"As if," Sirius sniffed. 

For once, Severus ignored Sirius. "You might be able to persuade me," he remarked. 

"Oh, I will," Hermione promised. She grinned at the stunned expression on their colleagues' faces. 

A/N:

First of all, sorry it took me so long to upgrade! Been *really* busy with work, some days FF.net was being a pain and I also always find it very hard to write a satisfying ending to a story. Seems the part I like best is usually somewhere in the middle, then the end is quite difficult.. Well, I hope it was still a decent read. : )

To all my reviewers: Thank you very much for your support! I hope you will read the other stories I'm going to be posting (and hopefully updating more frequently : ))


End file.
